Worst States for Landlords in 2026.
All 50 states + DC ranked by average landlord eviction risk. Higher scores mean stronger tenant protections, stricter rent controls, and longer court timelines. Data spans every covered city in each state, weighted by population.
| # | State↕ | Cities↕ | Pop↕ | Avg Risk↕ | Avg Burden↕ | Average Rent↕ | Lean↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | New York NYCosts · Process · Laws | 1,285 | 16.4M | 9.6 | 31.9% | $1,777 | Dem |
| 02 | District of Columbia DCCosts · Process · Laws | 1 | 681k | 9.1 | 28.6% | $1,954 | Dem |
| 03 | California CACosts · Process · Laws | 1,594 | 37.4M | 9.0 | 33.3% | $2,102 | Dem |
| 04 | New Jersey NJCosts · Process · Laws | 696 | 6.1M | 7.6 | 32.3% | $1,821 | Dem |
| 05 | Oregon ORCosts · Process · Laws | 425 | 3.5M | 7.5 | 31.8% | $1,538 | Dem |
| 06 | Massachusetts MACosts · Process · Laws | 248 | 5.0M | 7.4 | 31.4% | $1,841 | Dem |
| 07 | Washington WACosts · Process · Laws | 637 | 6.5M | 7.1 | 30.5% | $1,810 | Dem |
| 08 | Hawaii HICosts · Process · Laws | 161 | 1.4M | 6.4 | 33.8% | $2,058 | Dem |
| 09 | Connecticut CTCosts · Process · Laws | 214 | 2.2M | 6.3 | 32.2% | $1,604 | Dem |
| 10 | Rhode Island RICosts · Process · Laws | 36 | 682k | 6.1 | 30.2% | $1,349 | Dem |
| 11 | Maryland MDCosts · Process · Laws | 532 | 5.2M | 6.0 | 31.3% | $1,835 | Dem |
| 12 | Vermont VTCosts · Process · Laws | 180 | 279k | 6.0 | 30.9% | $1,281 | IND |
| 13 | Illinois ILCosts · Process · Laws | 1,456 | 11.2M | 5.5 | 29.7% | $1,372 | Dem |
| 14 | Maine MECosts · Process · Laws | 155 | 671k | 5.3 | 30.8% | $1,190 | IND |
| 15 | Minnesota MNCosts · Process · Laws | 909 | 4.8M | 5.3 | 29.9% | $1,365 | IND |
| 16 | Colorado COCosts · Process · Laws | 479 | 5.1M | 5.0 | 32.1% | $1,785 | IND |
| 17 | Pennsylvania PACosts · Process · Laws | 1,952 | 7.3M | 4.9 | 30.3% | $1,228 | Rep |
| 18 | Nevada NVCosts · Process · Laws | 132 | 3.1M | 4.5 | 33.2% | $1,606 | IND |
| 19 | Virginia VACosts · Process · Laws | 683 | 6.0M | 4.3 | 30.5% | $1,760 | Rep |
| 20 | Delaware DECosts · Process · Laws | 79 | 440k | 4.2 | 31.2% | $1,504 | Rep |
| 21 | Louisiana LACosts · Process · Laws | 489 | 3.0M | 4.2 | 34.3% | $1,081 | Rep |
| 22 | Michigan MICosts · Process · Laws | 743 | 5.6M | 4.2 | 31.1% | $1,157 | Rep |
| 23 | Georgia GACosts · Process · Laws | 673 | 5.5M | 4.1 | 31.9% | $1,401 | Rep |
| 24 | New Hampshire NHCosts · Process · Laws | 100 | 661k | 4.1 | 30.1% | $1,495 | Rep |
| 25 | New Mexico NMCosts · Process · Laws | 518 | 1.8M | 4.1 | 30.5% | $1,085 | IND |
| 26 | Ohio OHCosts · Process · Laws | 1,251 | 8.3M | 4.0 | 28.5% | $1,094 | Rep |
| 27 | Florida FLCosts · Process · Laws | 949 | 17.2M | 3.9 | 35.8% | $1,727 | Rep |
| 28 | Mississippi MSCosts · Process · Laws | 426 | 1.7M | 3.9 | 31.9% | $1,031 | Rep |
| 29 | North Carolina NCCosts · Process · Laws | 774 | 6.7M | 3.9 | 30.3% | $1,341 | Rep |
| 30 | Wisconsin WICosts · Process · Laws | 803 | 4.4M | 3.9 | 27.3% | $1,117 | Rep |
| 31 | Alaska AKCosts · Process · Laws | 353 | 720k | 3.8 | 27.6% | $1,404 | Rep |
| 32 | South Carolina SCCosts · Process · Laws | 472 | 2.6M | 3.8 | 31.8% | $1,271 | Rep |
| 33 | Alabama ALCosts · Process · Laws | 593 | 3.4M | 3.7 | 30.1% | $1,069 | Rep |
| 34 | Indiana INCosts · Process · Laws | 971 | 4.9M | 3.7 | 29.6% | $1,105 | Rep |
| 35 | Kentucky KYCosts · Process · Laws | 553 | 2.9M | 3.7 | 29.8% | $1,040 | Rep |
| 36 | Missouri MOCosts · Process · Laws | 1,082 | 4.4M | 3.7 | 28.6% | $1,104 | Rep |
| 37 | Montana MTCosts · Process · Laws | 496 | 788k | 3.7 | 28.2% | $1,086 | Rep |
| 38 | Tennessee TNCosts · Process · Laws | 501 | 4.5M | 3.7 | 29.9% | $1,291 | Rep |
| 39 | Arizona AZCosts · Process · Laws | 464 | 6.9M | 3.6 | 30.8% | $1,579 | Rep |
| 40 | Iowa IACosts · Process · Laws | 1,026 | 2.6M | 3.6 | 27.7% | $976 | Rep |
| 41 | Nebraska NECosts · Process · Laws | 593 | 1.6M | 3.6 | 28.2% | $1,049 | Rep |
| 42 | Texas TXCosts · Process · Laws | 1,841 | 23.3M | 3.6 | 31.3% | $1,432 | Rep |
| 43 | West Virginia WVCosts · Process · Laws | 439 | 783k | 3.6 | 31.0% | $868 | Rep |
| 44 | Arkansas ARCosts · Process · Laws | 621 | 2.1M | 3.5 | 28.0% | $979 | Rep |
| 45 | Idaho IDCosts · Process · Laws | 236 | 1.4M | 3.5 | 29.1% | $1,302 | Rep |
| 46 | Kansas KSCosts · Process · Laws | 740 | 2.5M | 3.5 | 27.3% | $1,082 | Rep |
| 47 | Oklahoma OKCosts · Process · Laws | 840 | 3.2M | 3.5 | 28.5% | $1,039 | Rep |
| 48 | Utah UTCosts · Process · Laws | 333 | 3.3M | 3.5 | 28.6% | $1,581 | Rep |
| 49 | North Dakota NDCosts · Process · Laws | 406 | 632k | 3.4 | 25.3% | $950 | Rep |
| 50 | South Dakota SDCosts · Process · Laws | 484 | 719k | 3.4 | 26.4% | $953 | Rep |
| 51 | Wyoming WYCosts · Process · Laws | 204 | 457k | 3.4 | 27.9% | $1,020 | Rep |
How the ranking is built
State average = mean primary risk score across every covered city in that state. Primary risk score combines nine sub-scores (political climate at local/regional/state levels, economic stress, supply constraint, rent-control risk, eviction process difficulty, tenant organizing strength, housing court bias) into a single 1–10 value where 1 is most landlord-neutral and 10 is most tenant-protective.
States at the top of the worst-list share three fundamentals: high rent burden, Democratic county dominance, and existing just-cause or rent-stabilization laws. States at the top of the best-list are typically lower-wage markets with Republican county majorities, lower rent burden, and no statewide just-cause requirement.
Sources
What this ranking is based on. Positions reflect each city's legal and regulatory environment for landlords: statutes, ordinances, eviction timelines, filing costs, and court posture, combined with market-wide economics such as rent burden. Rankings never use tenant or neighborhood demographics, and the one-line notes on the top entries cite the specific enacted laws behind each position. Full detail on every input is on the methodology page.
US Census ACS 2023 5-year (poverty, unemployment, rent burden, median gross rent, renter share), 2024 Census Gazetteer (geometry), MIT Election Lab 2020 county presidential returns, state landlord-tenant statute citations, HUD cost-burden thresholds. Nothing on this list is synthesized. Where a source has no value for a city, it is excluded from that ranking, not filled in.