Mason County, West Virginia Eviction Risk: Low

Mason County, West Virginia eviction laws carries an average eviction-risk score of 3.2/10 (Low), placing it in the middle third of the state at rank 34 of 55 counties. That position means 33 West Virginia counties post higher risk scores and 21 are considered less risky, so landlords here are operating in genuinely moderate, if not difficult, territory. With a total measured population of roughly 8,368 across 9 cities and an average rent of $672, the county draws a modest tenant pool that keeps rent-burden pressure relatively contained at 28% of income on average.

That said, the intra-county range of 2 to 3.7 is wide enough to matter. A landlord holding units in the county seat faces meaningfully different conditions than one holding rural parcels at the low end of that band. The countywide average smooths over real variation, so city-level scores deserve close attention before any acquisition decision.

The cities inside Mason County

Point Pleasant anchors the high end of the risk spectrum at 3.7/10, and as the largest city in the county with a population of 3,961, it accounts for a significant share of the county's rental activity. The city of Mason follows at 3.5/10 (population 787), and New Haven comes in at 3.3/10 (population 1,493). Investors concentrating in these three communities should be prepared for more active tenant turnover and court activity relative to the rest of the county.

At the lower end, Gallipolis Ferry and Hartford City each score 2/10, among the calmest profiles in the county. Leon, Clifton, and Apple Grove all land at 2.5/10. For landlords who can manage units in smaller, more rural communities, these pockets carry considerably lighter eviction-risk exposure. The spread confirms that risk in Mason County is genuinely hyper-local, and aggregating across the county masks decisions that matter at the street level.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Mason County operate under West Virginia state law, specifically W. Va. Code § 37-6 (Landlord and Tenant). For non-payment of rent, West Virginia eviction laws permits immediate action with no mandatory notice period before filing. Lease violations require a 14-day cure notice, while no-cause or end-of-term terminations require 30 days. Landlords researching the West Virginia eviction process will find these timelines among the more landlord-favorable in the region. Once a case is filed, uncontested matters typically resolve in 21 to 45 days, while contested proceedings can run 45 to 100 days. Court filing fees range from $75 to $150, sheriff lockout fees from $30 to $125, and attorney fees commonly run $500 to $2,500 depending on case complexity. Landlords budgeting for worst-case West Virginia eviction costs should plan around those attorney-fee figures as the dominant variable. Critically, West Virginia eviction laws imposes no just-cause requirement for eviction and has preempted local rent control, so Mason County cannot impose rent caps or additional tenant protections beyond state law.

With a poverty rate of 23.3% and a renter share of 29.2%, Mason County's tenant base carries real financial stress that landlords should price into screening standards; the city grid above breaks that exposure down to the neighborhood level where it is most actionable.