Marion County, West Virginia Eviction Risk: Low

Marion County carries a county-wide average eviction-risk score of 2.9/10 (Moderate), placing it 2nd out of 55 counties in West Virginia, meaning only one county in the state posts a higher risk profile. That ranking alone tells landlords and investors something important: while the score sits at the moderate midpoint on a 10-point scale, Marion County is operating near the top of the risk distribution for the entire state. Across the county's 15 cities, the average renter share is 31.6% of households, average rent runs $924 per month, and rent burden averages 26.5% of income, a combination that signals a tenant base with limited financial cushion.

The intra-county spread runs from a low of 2.3/10 to a high of 4.4/10, a gap wide enough to meaningfully change operating conditions depending on which municipality a property sits in. A score of 2.3 reflects a materially different risk environment than 4.4, so treating Marion County as a uniform market will lead to mispriced assumptions about vacancy exposure, collection risk, and turnover frequency.

The cities inside Marion County

The highest-risk cities in the county all land at 4.4/10: Fairmont (population 18,221), Pleasant Valley (population 3,482), White Hall (population 946), and Rivesville (population 627). Fairmont dominates by sheer scale, accounting for more than 60% of the county's 29,678 residents, so the county average is heavily anchored by conditions there. Monongah scores 4.3/10, Mannington scores 4.1/10, and Barrackville comes in at 3.9/10, each representing a step down in risk as you move toward smaller, more stable communities.

The lowest-risk city in Marion County is Idamay at 2.4/10, population 575, which illustrates how sharply risk concentrates in the larger urban centers. A landlord holding single-family rentals in Idamay faces a fundamentally different operating picture than one running a multi-unit building in Fairmont, even though both addresses fall under the same county label. City-level scores are the right unit of analysis here, not the county average.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Marion County operate under West Virginia state law, specifically W. Va. Code § 37-6 (Landlord and Tenant). The notice structure is straightforward: non-payment of rent requires no advance notice before filing, a lease violation gives tenants 14 days to cure, and a no-cause termination at the end of a term requires 30 days notice. West Virginia eviction laws does not require just cause to terminate a tenancy, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so no city in Marion County can impose rent caps. Reviewing the full West Virginia eviction process before filing is worthwhile, particularly for landlords new to the state.

On costs, the West Virginia eviction costs breakdown under state law runs: court filing fees of $75 to $150, a sheriff lockout fee of $30 to $125, and attorney fees of $500 to $2,500 if counsel is retained. An uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested one can stretch to 45 to 100 days. Understanding West Virginia security deposit limits and West Virginia tenant protections before executing leases helps reduce the conditions that drive proceedings in the first place.

With a poverty rate averaging 14.9% across Marion County's cities and nearly a third of households renting, the city-level scores in the grid above are the most reliable guide to where operating conditions are tightest and where more stable tenancies are likely.