Marshall County, West Virginia Eviction Risk: Low

Marshall County, West Virginia eviction laws carries a county-wide eviction-risk score of 2.9/10 (Moderate), placing it 7th out of 55 West Virginia eviction laws counties for landlord risk. That ranking means only 6 counties across the state post higher scores, putting Marshall County squarely in the higher-risk third of West Virginia. For landlords and investors, the Moderate rating does not mean friction-free operations: with a poverty rate of 20.4% and an average renter share of 29.1% of households, the tenant pool faces real affordability pressure that shows up in collection and vacancy risk.

Across all 5 incorporated cities inside the county, scores span a 3.8 to 4.4 range, a tighter band than many comparably-sized counties but still wide enough that street-level location decisions matter. Average rent of $772 per month, combined with an average rent burden of 30.8% of income, signals that a meaningful share of renters are stretching to make monthly obligations, which elevates late-payment and eviction exposure relative to markets with lower burden ratios.

The cities inside Marshall County

Benwood carries the county's highest risk, scoring 4.4/10 with a population of 1,230. McMechen follows at 4.3/10 and 1,826 residents. Both are small, dense communities where a single distressed property can have outsized turnover effects, and investors should underwrite each address individually rather than relying on the county average. Moundsville, the county seat and by far the largest city at 7,869 residents, lands at 2.9/10, consistent with the county average, making it the most representative proxy for county-wide operating conditions.

The lowest-risk city is Glen Dale, scoring 3.8/10 with a population of 1,461. Cameron, at 2.9/10 and 609 residents, rounds out the five. The spread from Glen Dale to Benwood is 0.6 points, a gap that translates to meaningfully different vacancy and collection profiles in practice. Landlords assembling a West Virginia portfolio should map each individual city, not just the county headline number.

State-level laws that apply here

All Marshall County landlords operate under West Virginia state law, primarily W. Va. Code § 37-6 (Landlord and Tenant). For non-payment of rent, no advance notice is required before filing; for a lease violation, landlords must give 14 days notice to cure; and for end-of-term or no-cause termination, the required notice is 30 days. Understanding the West Virginia eviction laws eviction process is essential before purchasing here, because an uncontested case still takes 21 to 45 days from filing to resolution, while a contested matter can run 45 to 100 days. Court filing fees run $75 to $150, sheriff lockout fees add $30 to $125, and attorney fees range from $500 to $2,500. West Virginia eviction costs therefore vary significantly depending on whether a tenant contests the proceeding.

On rent control and just cause, West Virginia eviction laws state law preempts local rent-control ordinances and does not require just cause for non-renewal, two provisions that favor landlord flexibility at lease turnover. Source-of-income is not a protected class under state law, though federal fair-housing protections from the West Virginia Human Rights Commission still apply. Habitability obligations are codified at W. Va. Code § 37-6-30.

With a poverty rate of 20.4% and roughly 29.1% of households renting, a meaningful share of Marshall County residents are cost-burdened tenants; the city-level scores in the grid above pinpoint where that pressure concentrates most.