Terrell County, Texas Eviction Risk: Low

Terrell County, located in the remote Trans-Pecos region of far southwest Texas eviction laws, records an eviction risk score of 3.1/10 (Low) -- placing it 254th of 254 Texas counties, where rank 1 represents the highest risk. With 242 Texas counties scoring higher and only 11 scoring lower, Terrell sits firmly in the lower-risk third of the state. The county's single incorporated place, Sanderson, carries the same score of 3.1/10, reflecting a rental market that is small, stable, and operating under Texas's strongly landlord-permissive legal framework.

The rental landscape here is unusually compact. The county's total population is just 643, and the renter share of occupied housing is approximately 8.7% -- one of the thinnest rental markets of any Texas county. Average asking rent runs around $1,434 per month, while rent burden sits at a notably low 11.8% of household income, well below the 30% threshold that researchers use to define cost-pressure stress. The poverty rate of 10.3% is modest relative to many rural Texas counties. These figures combine to produce a risk profile in which tenant-side financial stress is limited and the overall volume of landlord-tenant disputes is correspondingly low. The score range across the county spans from 3.1 to 3.1, leaving almost no internal variation.

Texas state law is the dominant force shaping landlord risk here and throughout the state. Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, landlords can serve a 3-day notice to vacate for non-payment of rent, lease violations, end of term, or holdover tenancy -- one of the shortest statutory notice windows in the country. For unauthorized occupants, Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011 (as amended by SB-38) permits immediate action with no advance notice period at all. Texas also requires no just cause for eviction and prohibits local governments from enacting rent control ordinances under TX Local Gov Code §214.902, meaning no city or county anywhere in Texas can cap rent increases. For Terrell County landlords, that statewide uniformity means the legal environment is as predictable as it gets: fast notice timelines, no local ordinance overrides, and a straightforward justice court process that typically resolves uncontested cases within 21 to 30 days.

Terrell County's Low risk score of 3.1/10 reflects a combination of minimal renter-market scale, low rent burden at 11.8% of household income, and the absence of any protective local ordinances -- all operating under Texas eviction laws's uniformly landlord-permissive statute. The score range of 3.1 to 3.1 across the county signals virtually no internal divergence in risk exposure.