Goshen County, Wyoming Eviction Risk: Low

Goshen County sits in the southeastern corner of Wyoming, anchored by Torrington along the North Platte River. With a total population of roughly 7,621 and a renter share of 34.3%, the rental market here is modest in scale but consistent in character - agricultural employment, low turnover, and a tight-knit community where landlord-tenant disputes rarely escalate into protracted legal battles. The county's eviction risk index currently reads 2.7/10 (Low), placing it 6th of 23 Wyoming counties when ranked from highest to lowest risk. That means 5 counties across the state carry higher eviction risk than Goshen, and 17 sit below it - a positioning in the higher-risk of the state's risk distribution.

Scores across Goshen's eight tracked municipalities span a tight band from 2.2 to 2.8/10, reflecting the county's relative uniformity in tenant-protection policy and local economic conditions. Torrington eviction risk, by far the county seat and largest community with 6,182 residents, posts the highest reading at 2.8/10 - a score driven partly by its greater housing stock density and the concentration of lower-income renters within city limits. Average rents in the county run $893 per month, and the average rent burden sits at 30% of household income, with a poverty rate of 16.8% - numbers that explain why non-payment cases, when they do arise, tend to cluster in Torrington rather than in the county's smaller agricultural towns. Yoder, a small farming community of 231 residents on the northern edge of the county, posts the second-highest score at 2.7/10, while Veteran and Fort Laramie score 2.6/10 and 2.5/10 respectively. On the lower end, Lingle (430 residents) scores 2.3/10, LaGrange and Hawk Springs each come in at 2.4/10 and 2.4/10, and Huntley - with just 13 residents - holds the county floor at 2.2/10. The narrow spread between 2.2 and 2.8/10 signals that no single municipality has meaningfully divergent tenant protections or economic conditions relative to the rest of the county.

From a landlord perspective, Goshen County operates under Wyoming's relatively streamlined eviction framework, governed by Wyo. Stat. § 1-21-1201 et seq. The state carries no rent control, no just-cause eviction requirement, and no source-of-income protection - landlords may decline applicants on the basis of income type and may raise rents at lease renewal without statutory constraint. Wyoming law explicitly preempts any municipality from enacting local rent control, so Torrington and the county's other towns cannot deviate from the state framework. For non-payment of rent or a correctable lease violation, the required notice period is just 3 days; no-cause terminations at end of term require 30 days' notice. Uncontested proceedings typically conclude within 21 to 45 days from filing, with contested cases extending to 45 to 100 days. Court filing fees range from $85 to $175, sheriff lockout costs run $40 to $150, and attorney fees - when retained - typically fall between $500 and $2,500 for a standard uncontested matter. These figures are low relative to most states, reinforcing the county's Low-risk classification compared to the Wyoming average of 2.7/10.

Goshen County's 2.7/10 score reflects a statutory environment that favors expedient resolution - short notice windows, no rent cap, and no just-cause requirement - offset by modest local economic stress. The 30% average rent burden and 16.8% poverty rate are the primary factors keeping the county from scoring even lower, as a meaningful share of Torrington eviction risk renters are vulnerable to income disruption that can trigger non-payment filings.