1 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Fredericksburg (4.4) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
In 2026
Risk score
4.4
MODERATE
Ranked #6 of 132 VA counties
29k residents · 1 cities · 7 tracts
1976–2026 · pop-weighted from cities
Fredericksburg eviction risk score history
Min1.6Average2.7Now4.4
197619861996200620162026
Key metrics
Tenant beats landlord
22.0%
/ 100 outcomes
In court-decided eviction outcomes for Fredericksburg, VA, tenants prevail in roughly 22.0% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
Timeline
55d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Fredericksburg, VA until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 55 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
Cost range
$1.9–4.8k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Fredericksburg, VA costs landlords $1,866 to $4,778 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
Average rent
$1,619
30% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Fredericksburg, VA is $1,619 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey. 30% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent.
Renters
60.3%
of households
60.3% of occupied housing units in Fredericksburg, VA are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
Poverty
16.4%
4.6% unemp.
16.4% of Fredericksburg, VA residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 4.6%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Fredericksburg city County averages 5.3/10 across its 1 city, with Fredericksburg carrying the full county score at 5.3/10 and representing the highest-risk location in the county. Ranked 27th of 132 Virginia jurisdictions by eviction-risk score.
How Fredericksburg ranks in Virginia
Lower number means more extreme, where #1 is the most
Eviction Risk Score
Very High
#6of 132 VA counties4.4 / 10
#6 of 132 counties in Virginia for landlord eviction risk.
Cost of living
Elevated
#16of 51 states (statewide)101.1 index
Virginia ranks #16 of 51 states on overall cost of living (1.1% more expensive than the U.S. avg).
Housing services cost
Elevated
#17of 51 states (statewide)106.8 index
Virginia ranks #17 of 51 states on housing services (6.8% more expensive than the U.S. avg).
Income spent on rent
Moderate
#68of 132 VA counties29.5% of income
#68 of 132 counties in Virginia on % of income spent on rent.
FredericksburgPop 28,873 · 29.5% income · $1,619 rent · Dem
28,873
4.4
29.5%
$1,619
Dem
County heatmap
Geographic distribution
Local landlord context
One county, multiple regulatory regimes.
Fredericksburg city County carries an average eviction-risk score of 4.4/10, placing it in the Moderate tier and in the higher-risk third of Virginia. With 28 of the state's 132 counties scoring higher and 103 scoring lower, landlords here face more friction than they would across most of the Commonwealth. The county's 60.3% renter share and a 16.4% poverty rate create a tenant base where financial stress is common, and with average rent at $1,619 per month and an average rent burden of 29.5%, a meaningful portion of renters are stretched thin.
Because the county encompasses a single city, the intra-county score range is tight: from 5.3 to 5.3. Landlords considering this market should weigh that consistency against the underlying demographic pressures, which are concentrated rather than spread across diverse submarkets.
The cities inside Fredericksburg city County
Fredericksburg is the county's only municipality, and at a population of 28,873 it accounts for the entire county. Its risk score of 4.4/10 reflects moderate eviction pressure, driven in part by the high renter concentration in an urban core with a notable poverty rate. There is no lower-risk corner to retreat to within this county; every rental investment here operates under the same market conditions.
Risk is often hyper-local, but in a single-city county like this one, micro-neighborhood differences in vacancy trends, tenant demographics, and property class matter more than geography. Investors evaluating Fredericksburg should dig into submarket data at the neighborhood level rather than relying on city-wide averages alone.
State-level laws that apply here
Virginia eviction laws state law governs the eviction process for all landlords in this county. Under the Virginia eviction laws Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a landlord must serve a 5-day notice for nonpayment of rent, a 21-day notice for a material lease violation, and a 30-day notice for a material non-curable breach or to end a month-to-month tenancy. Once filed, an uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested case can run 45 to 120 days. Court filing fees range from $58 to $90, sheriff lockout fees from $40 to $150, and attorney fees from $500 to $3,000, making the Virginia eviction costs for a single case potentially significant. Virginia eviction laws does not require just cause for non-renewal, and state law preempts any local rent control ordinance, which means no local caps can limit rents here. The full Virginia eviction laws eviction process, including notice requirements and cure periods, is covered by state statute with no local carve-outs.
With 60.3% of residents renting and a poverty rate of 16.4%, Fredericksburg city County's risk profile is shaped by a large, financially stressed renter base; review the city grid above for tract-level score detail.
Reviewed by the NextGen Properties Research Team. Virginia statute information is current as of 2026-05-29. Risk scores are derived from ACS 2023 5-year estimates, county court processing timelines, and 2024 county presidential election margins as a political-climate signal.
Eviction filings in Virginia
Eviction Lab Tracking System · statewide · live through 2026-05-01
The Princeton Eviction Lab Tracking System covers Virginia statewide (no county-level tracker available for Fredericksburg). In the past month, 10,534 statewide filings were recorded, 1.07× the historical baseline (near baseline).
10,534Past month (state)
139,873Past 12 months
1.02×vs baseline (12 mo)
Virginia statewide, last 36 months2023-05-01 – 2026-04-01
Notice requirement: at least five days notice (in some cases more). Filing fee: minimum filing fee of $36.
In September 2025, 107 eviction filings were recorded in Fredericksburg, 102.9% of the historical average (near average).2
107Sep 2025
102.9%of historical avg
6,687Renter households
16.4%Poverty rate
Last 24 months of filings2023-10 – 2025-09
Historical eviction filings in Fredericksburg
From 2010 to 2016, eviction filings in Fredericksburg increased.
The peak was 1,155 filings in 2014.3
1,0702010
1,155Peak (2014)
1,0732016
Annual filings 2010–2016No filing data published after 2018
Data covers 2000–2018, the full span of the Princeton Eviction Lab's national county court-records dataset.
How Fredericksburg compares
Fredericksburg city County scores 5.3/10, tying Culpeper County (5.3/10) and edging above peer jurisdictions such as Salem city (5.2/10), Staunton city (5.19/10), and Stafford County (5.16/10). The peer group is tightly bunched, signaling that county-level score differences are small but that local vacancy and collection dynamics still vary meaningfully.
Within Virginia, Fredericksburg city County ranks 27th out of 132 jurisdictions, placing it in the top quarter of risk statewide and indicating landlords should apply above-average diligence to tenant selection and lease structuring here.
Peer counties in Virginia
Same state, closest by population and Eviction Risk Score