Wyoming County, West Virginia Eviction Risk: Low

Wyoming County scores 2.6/10, a Low eviction-risk rating that places it among the more landlord-friendly corners of West Virginia eviction laws. At rank 46 of 55 counties statewide, 45 counties carry higher risk, and only 9 sit below this county on the risk ladder, putting Wyoming County firmly in the lower-risk third of the state. For landlords and investors, that broad headline means the structural conditions for steady, lower-friction operations are generally favorable here, though the fine print varies sharply across the county's 12 incorporated places.

The intra-county spread, from 1.7 to 3.5, is wide enough that a portfolio concentrated in the wrong city could perform very differently from one spread across the lower-risk communities. With a total tracked population of 7,074 and an average rent of $785, Wyoming County draws a small but stable renter base. Roughly 29.4% of residents are renters, and average rent burden sits at 30%, numbers that suggest moderate but real financial pressure on tenants in an economy where poverty runs deep.

The cities inside Wyoming County

The highest-risk address in the county is Oceana, scoring 3.5/10 with a population of 1,203. Mullens, the county's most populous tracked city at 2,034 residents, follows at 3.3/10. Both sit measurably above the county average and warrant closer scrutiny on tenant screening and lease enforcement before committing capital. Bud checks in at 2.6/10, right at the county average, making it a middle-of-the-road market where outcomes depend heavily on property-level management.

On the lower end, Matheny scores 1.7/10, Corinne 1.8/10, and Glen Fork 1.8/10, all well below the county average. Kopperston at 2.1/10 and Pineville at 2/10 also sit in the lower-risk half of the spread. The contrast between Oceana and Matheny, nearly two full points apart, makes clear that risk in Wyoming County is hyper-local. A cross-county average tells you only where the floor and ceiling are; the city-level scores in the grid below are what actually drive underwriting decisions.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords operating in Wyoming County fall under West Virginia state law, specifically W. Va. Code Section 37-6 (Landlord and Tenant). For nonpayment of rent, West Virginia eviction laws requires no advance notice before filing, which is one of the more landlord-favorable rules in the region. A lease-violation notice requires 14 days to cure, and a no-cause end-of-term notice requires 30 days. Understanding the full West Virginia eviction laws eviction process matters here because even without a notice requirement for nonpayment, court timelines still run 21 to 45 days uncontested, or 45 to 100 days if a tenant contests the action.

Total case costs are material. Court filing fees range from $75 to $150, sheriff lockout fees from $30 to $125, and attorney fees from $500 to $2,500, depending on complexity. West Virginia eviction costs can therefore reach into the low thousands even on a straightforward case. On the regulatory side, West Virginia eviction laws does not require just cause for evictions, has no rent cap formula, and the state preempts local rent-control ordinances, so no municipality within Wyoming County can impose restrictions beyond state law. For a full breakdown of deposit rules, see West Virginia security deposit limits.

With a poverty rate of 32.2% and just under 30% of residents renting, tenant financial stress is a real operating variable in Wyoming County, and city-by-city scores in the grid above are the most reliable guide to where that stress concentrates.