Mingo County, West Virginia Eviction Risk: Low

Mingo County carries an average eviction-risk score of 3.1/10, placing it in the Low risk tier and ranking 40th out of 55 West Virginia counties, meaning 39 counties in the state are riskier for landlords and only 15 are less risky. Across the county's 8 incorporated places, total tracked population sits at roughly 5,837, average asking rent runs $552 per month, and the average renter share of households is 40.1%. For landlords operating or scouting in West Virginia eviction laws, those headline numbers signal a market where regulatory pressure is contained and structural eviction risk runs below the state norm.

That said, the 3.1 county average masks genuine intra-county variation. Individual city scores range from 1.9/10 to 3.3/10, a spread of 1.4 points that matters when you are evaluating specific acquisitions. A portfolio concentrated in the county seat faces meaningfully different conditions than one positioned in its lower-risk outliers. Digging into the city-level grid is therefore the most useful next step before committing capital here.

The cities inside Mingo County

The highest-risk locations in Mingo County are Williamson and Kermit, both scoring 3.3/10. Williamson is by far the county's most populous city at 2,919 residents, making it the dominant rental market in the county and the place where landlord-tenant friction is most likely to surface. Kermit, at a population of 153, sits at the opposite end of the size spectrum but matches Williamson's risk score. Just below them, Matewan (pop. 505), Chattaroy (pop. 467), and Gilbert (pop. 308) all score 3.2/10, forming a cluster of mid-range risk communities spread through the county.

On the friendlier end of the spectrum, Delbarton scores 2.8/10 and Red Jacket comes in at 3.0/10. The clearest outlier is Holden, which posts the county's lowest score at 1.9/10 on a population of 670 residents. Risk is clearly hyper-local here: an investor choosing between Williamson and Holden is effectively choosing between two very different operating environments, even though both cities share the same county lines and the same state statutes.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Mingo County operates under W. Va. Code § 37-6 (Landlord and Tenant). For non-payment of rent, West Virginia eviction laws law requires 0 days of advance notice before filing, meaning landlords can proceed to court immediately once rent is past due. A lease-violation notice requiring cure carries a 14-day deadline, and a no-cause end-of-term termination requires 30 days. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 21 to 45 days; contested proceedings can extend to 45 to 100 days. The full cost of an eviction action, combining court filing fees of $75 to $150, sheriff lockout fees of $30 to $125, and attorney fees of $500 to $2,500, means a contested removal can approach several thousand dollars all-in. Landlords budgeting for worst-case scenarios should review the West Virginia eviction costs guide for the current fee schedule.

West Virginia eviction laws does not require just cause for non-renewal, and the state preempts local rent control ordinances, so no Mingo County municipality can impose rent caps independently. Source-of-income is not a protected class under state fair housing law. Tenant-side protections, while present, are comparatively limited relative to high-regulation states. Landlords who want the full picture on notice requirements and tenant rights should consult the West Virginia eviction laws eviction process guide, which covers procedural requirements from notice through writ of possession.

With an average poverty rate of 35.2% and 40.1% of households renting, Mingo County's rental base is economically stretched, a factor that can elevate practical collection risk even in a low-regulatory environment; the city-level grid above breaks this down by population and score for each of the 8 communities in the county.