2 incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. The county Eviction Risk Score is held aloft by the city of Bethel Manor (3.2) and a small number of dense urban cores. Rent-control coverage varies by city.
In 2026
Risk score
3.1
LOW
Ranked #120 of 132 VA counties
5k residents · 2 cities · 15 tracts
1976–2026 · pop-weighted from cities
York County eviction risk score history
Min1.5Average2.1Now3.1
197619861996200620162026
Key metrics
Tenant beats landlord
29.6%
/ 100 outcomes
In court-decided eviction outcomes for York County, VA, tenants prevail in roughly 29.6% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses and longer calendars.
Timeline
53d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in York County, VA until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 53 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent for landlords.
Cost range
$1.8–4.8k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in York County, VA costs landlords $1,760 to $4,839 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent.
Average rent
$2,087
30% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in York County, VA is $2,087 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
98.1%
of households
98.1% of occupied housing units in York County, VA are renter-occupied. A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings and a more active rental market.
Poverty
6.7%
6.0% unemp.
6.7% of York County, VA residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 6.0%. Both feed the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
York County scores 3.1/10 (Low risk), with community scores ranging from 3.1 to 3.2. The county sits well below the Virginia statewide average of 3.8/10. Ranked 120th of 132 Virginia counties - 119 counties carry higher eviction risk; 12 are rated lower.
How York County ranks in Virginia
Lower number means more extreme, where #1 is the most
Eviction Risk Score
Very Low
#120of 132 VA counties3.1 / 10
#120 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
Very High
#3of 132 VA counties44.4% of income
#3 of 132 counties in Virginia on % of income spent on rent.
York County, Virginia eviction laws earns an eviction risk score of 3.1/10 (Low), placing it 120th out of 132 counties in Virginia - firmly in the lower-risk of the state. With 119 Virginia eviction laws counties carrying higher risk than York and only 12 rated more landlord-friendly, this is one of the lower-pressure rental markets in the Commonwealth. The score spread within the county is narrow, ranging from 3.1 to 3.2, which reflects a rental landscape that is consistently low-tension across its two tracked communities.
York County sits on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads region, a historically significant area anchored by Colonial Williamsburg and naval installations. The county's rental market is small by Virginia standards - roughly 4,521 residents across the county's tracked communities - but the characteristics that shape eviction risk are well-defined. Average rent runs $2,087 per month, meaningfully above the Virginia statewide norm, while the rent burden rate of 30.2% indicates that a substantial share of renters are allocating nearly a third of their income to housing costs. That burden level, while not extreme, sits at the threshold where unexpected expenses - a car repair, a medical bill, a week of lost wages - can quickly put a tenant behind on rent. The local poverty rate of 6.7% is relatively contained, and that stability likely contributes to the county's low overall risk profile.
At the community level, Yorktown - the county seat and site of the Yorktown Battlefield - scores 3.2/10, making it the highest-risk point within York County, though still solidly in Low territory. Bethel Manor, the county's largest community with roughly 4,393 residents, scores 3.1/10. Bethel Manor's size dominates the county's rental footprint; it is a community with significant ties to the nearby Langley Air Force Base corridor, and its rental dynamics reflect the mixed civilian-military household profile common to this part of the Peninsula. Virginia's landlord-tenant framework - governed by Va. Code § 55.1-1200 et seq. - does not include rent control or just-cause eviction requirements, and the state actively preempts local governments from enacting either. For renters in York County, this means the legal landscape offers comparatively few protective backstops beyond the baseline habitability and notice requirements under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Nonpayment of rent triggers a 5-day notice requirement before a landlord may file, while material lease violations require 21 days and non-curable breaches require 30 days. Court filing fees run $58 to $90, and an uncontested eviction typically resolves in 21 to 45 days - a relatively fast timeline by national standards.
York County's 3.1/10 score reflects a rental market where eviction pressure is low by Virginia eviction laws standards. The narrow score spread (3.1 to 3.2) across Bethel Manor and Yorktown suggests consistent conditions countywide, and the 30.2% rent burden - while worth monitoring - has not driven the county into higher-risk territory. The absence of rent control and the state's preemption of local tenant protections mean renters depend entirely on the state-level VRLTA framework.
This county profile was researched and written by the Eviction Risk Map research team, drawing on U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates, Virginia eviction laws court filing records, and the Virginia eviction laws Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Va. Code § 55.1-1200 et seq.). Risk scores are computed using the NGP-EvictStats model; full variable weights and data sourcing are documented in our methodology.
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 York County). 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, 76 eviction filings were recorded in York County, 76.2% of the historical average (near average).2
76Sep 2025
76.2%of historical avg
7,621Renter households
5.4%Poverty rate
Last 24 months of filings2023-10 – 2025-09
Historical eviction filings in York County
From 2010 to 2016, eviction filings in York County increased 5%.
The peak was 1,142 filings in 2015.3
1,0272010
1,142Peak (2015)
1,0822016
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 York County compares
York County's 3.1/10 score (Low) sits well below the Virginia statewide average of 3.8/10, underscoring its position as a lower-risk market within the Commonwealth. Among its peer counties, Scott County and Greene County are rated at similar or slightly lower risk levels, while Westmoreland County carries modestly higher risk. Patrick County and Louisa County fall in a comparable range to York. None of these peers approach the elevated risk scores found in Virginia's urban core counties. York's combination of a contained poverty rate (6.7%), a moderate rent burden (30.2%), and a small but stable rental population keeps it anchored in the lower tier.
Peer counties in Virginia
Same state, closest by population and Eviction Risk Score