Cabell County, West Virginia Eviction Risk: Low

Cabell County, West Virginia scores 3.2/10 on the eviction-risk index, placing it in the Low risk tier and at rank 30 of 55 West Virginia eviction laws counties, meaning 29 counties carry more risk and 25 are even more landlord-friendly. For owners operating across the county's 7 cities, that average translates to a market where eviction outcomes are manageable but not uniformly smooth. Rent averages $935 per month and renter households represent 42.9% of the county, so the rental pool is large and demand is real, though a 34.5% average rent burden signals that a meaningful share of tenants are financially stretched.

The headline number masks substantial variation within county lines. Scores across the 7 cities range from 2.7 to 5, a spread wide enough that a landlord in one part of the county faces an operating environment quite different from a counterpart a few miles away. Investors underwriting Cabell County should evaluate each submarket individually rather than treating the county average as a reliable proxy for any single location.

The cities inside Cabell County

Huntington anchors the county at a score of 2.7/10 and a population of 45,787, making it both the lowest-risk city and by far the largest. For landlords focused on tenant depth and relative predictability, Huntington eviction risk stands apart from the rest of the county. Salt Rock is the next most landlord-favorable city at 3/10, though its population of just 274 limits the addressable tenant pool considerably.

On the other end of the spectrum, Lesage reaches the county's highest score at 5/10, followed by Pea Ridge, Barboursville, and Milton, each at 4.8/10. Pea Ridge carries a population of 6,988 and Barboursville 4,376, so these are not small communities. Culloden sits at 4.5/10 with 3,040 residents. Landlords considering these suburbs should price in a higher likelihood of difficult tenancies when stress-testing cash-flow models. Risk in Cabell County is hyper-local, and city-level scores diverge sharply from the county average in both directions.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Cabell County operates under West Virginia eviction laws state law, specifically W. Va. Code § 37-6 (Landlord and Tenant). For non-payment of rent, there is no statutory notice period required before filing, meaning a landlord may proceed immediately. A lease-violation notice requires 14 days to cure, and a no-cause end-of-term termination requires 30 days. Court filing fees run $75 to $150, sheriff lockout fees add $30 to $125, and attorney fees commonly range from $500 to $2,500, so total proceeding costs can reach several hundred to over two thousand dollars depending on complexity. Understanding the full West Virginia eviction laws eviction process is essential before filing, and landlords should also review West Virginia eviction costs to budget accurately before a vacancy occurs.

West Virginia eviction laws does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy, and the state preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so Cabell County landlords face no rent caps at either the county or municipal level. Uncontested evictions typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested cases can stretch to 45 to 100 days. Source of income is not a protected class under state law. Fair housing complaints are handled by the West Virginia eviction laws Human Rights Commission.

With a county poverty rate of 23% and a renter share of 42.9%, the tenant base in Cabell County is substantial but economically mixed; the city-by-city scores in the grid above are the clearest guide to where that risk is concentrated.