Travis County, Texas Eviction Risk: Moderate

Travis County carries an average eviction-risk score of 4/10 (Moderate) across its 24 cities, yet that headline figure masks meaningful variation on the ground. Scores within the county run from 2.5 to 4.3, a spread wide enough to put two cities in different risk tiers entirely. For landlords and investors operating in Texas, the county-level average is a starting point, not a verdict: where exactly you own property inside Travis County matters considerably more than the county average.

With a total population of 1,178,241 and a renter share of 51.7%, Travis County is predominantly a renter market, which creates steady leasing demand but also concentrates tenant-side risk factors in the cities with weaker household finances. Average rent runs $1,778 per month, and the average rent burden sits at 29.7% of income, a figure that explains why payment-related eviction filings remain a recurring operational concern. Property management in Travis County rewards landlords who track these micro-market conditions city by city rather than relying on the county aggregate.

The cities inside Travis County

The highest-risk cities in the county are Pflugerville (population 65,971, score 3.7/10), Manor (population 18,603, score 3.7/10), and Bee Cave (score 4/10). Wells Branch (score 4.6/10) and Hudson Bend (score 3.8/10) follow. These eastern and outer-ring communities share higher poverty and rent-burden concentrations than the county average, which corresponds directly to elevated eviction-filing risk for landlords operating there.

On the lower-risk end, Lago Vista scores 3.1/10 and Lakeway scores 3.5/10, reflecting the more affluent, owner-occupied character of the Lake Travis corridor. Austin itself, with 979,539 residents, scores exactly at the county average of 4/10. The practical takeaway is that risk is hyper-local: a landlord with units in Lago Vista and Pflugerville is effectively operating in two different environments despite both being in the same county. Travis County property managers who specialize in specific submarkets can make a measurable difference in screening outcomes and lease enforcement.

State-level laws that apply here

Under Texas state law (Tex. Prop. Code § 91 and § 92), the standard notice period for non-payment of rent is 3 days regardless of whether the tenant is a first-time or habitual delinquent. The same 3-day notice applies to non-rent lease violations and holdover tenants, and for squatters or unauthorized occupants, no notice period is required under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.011. The Texas eviction process from notice to writ runs 21 to 30 days for uncontested cases and 45 to 90 days when contested. Direct costs to landlords include court filing fees of $54 to $125, sheriff lockout fees of $50 to $175, and attorney fees that typically range from $500 to $3,500. Reviewing Texas eviction costs before acquiring a property is essential due-diligence work.

Texas imposes no just-cause requirement for eviction and no statewide rent cap, and state law (TX Local Gov Code § 214.902) explicitly preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so Austin eviction risk cannot impose rent ceilings that would bind landlords. Source-of-income is not a protected class under state fair housing rules, though landlords should verify any city-level ordinances. Texas tenant protections primarily center on habitability obligations under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052 and anti-retaliation rules under § 92.331, both of which represent standard compliance baselines rather than unusual burdens.

Travis County's 11.4% average poverty rate and majority-renter makeup (51.7% of households) reinforce why scores vary so sharply across the 24 cities in the grid above, and why city-level data rather than the county average should drive acquisition and management decisions here.