Grand County, Utah Eviction Risk: Very Low

Grand County, Utah eviction laws earns a county-average eviction-risk score of 2.2/10 (Low), placing it among the more landlord-accessible rural markets in the state. Across all 5 tracked cities, scores span a fairly tight band of 1.5 to 2.5, signaling that tenant-payment pressure and legal-climate risk are uniformly modest throughout the county. That said, Grand County sits at rank 8 of 29 Utah counties, meaning 7 counties are riskier and 21 are less risky, putting it in the higher-risk third of the state, a nuance worth factoring into underwriting even at a low absolute score.

Operating conditions here are shaped by a relatively modest rental market: average rent runs $969 per month, average rent burden sits at 31.5% of renter income, and renters make up 34.4% of occupied households. Those figures suggest tenants are stretched but not severely so. A poverty rate of 20.4% adds some collection-risk exposure, particularly in a county whose total tracked population is only 6,832, making each vacancy or nonpayment event more impactful to a small portfolio.

The cities inside Grand County

Castle Valley carries the highest risk in the county at 2.5/10, followed closely by Moab at 2.3/10. Moab, with a population of 5,312, is by far the largest market in the county and the most relevant for investors evaluating meaningful rental scale. Its score of 2.3 reflects the tourism-driven rental dynamics and a tenant base that can shift seasonally. Castle Valley, at a population of only 357, is a much thinner market but scores at the county high, so landlords active there should monitor rent-burden trends carefully.

On the lower end, Thompson Springs scores 1.5/10 (the county minimum) and Spanish Valley comes in at 1.6/10. La Sal falls in the middle at 1.7/10. These three communities are small, with populations of 34, 756, and 373 respectively, and their low scores partly reflect limited renter density rather than unusually strong tenant finances. Risk in Grand County is genuinely hyper-local: a 1.0-point gap between Thompson Springs and Castle Valley within a single county boundary underscores why city-level data matters for portfolio decisions.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord operating in Grand County works under the same Utah eviction laws state statutes. For nonpayment of rent, Utah eviction laws law requires only a 3-day notice before filing, and the same 3-day window applies to lease violations subject to cure. A no-cause or end-of-term notice requires 30 days. Once filed, uncontested cases resolve in roughly 21 to 45 days; contested proceedings can stretch to 45 to 120 days. The Utah eviction laws eviction process is among the faster ones nationally, which is a meaningful pro-landlord feature of this market. Landlords should still budget for realistic out-of-pocket costs: court filing fees run $360 to $460, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $175, and attorney fees range from $750 to $3,500 depending on case complexity. Reviewing Utah eviction costs before acquiring property helps investors model downside scenarios accurately.

Utah eviction laws does not require just cause for eviction, and state law preempts any local rent-control measure, so no city within Grand County can impose a rent cap. Source-of-income is not a protected class under state fair-housing rules. Landlords must provide 24 hours notice before entry. Security deposit rules fall under Utah Code § 57-17 and forcible-entry procedures under § 78B-6-801 et seq.

With a poverty rate of 20.4% and renters making up 34.4% of households, collection risk is real even in a low-scoring county; the city grid above breaks down where that exposure concentrates across Moab, Castle Valley, and the county's three smaller communities.