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Use the estimator below to calculate the total cost of an eviction in your state. Enter your state, monthly rent, and whether the case is likely to be contested to get a full cost breakdown including filing fees, service fees, writ costs, estimated attorney fees, and lost rent during the eviction process.
💰 Eviction Cost Estimator
Estimate the total cost of an eviction in your state including filing fees, service fees, writ fees, and attorney costs.
Underground Landlord— MAP INTRO —
Explore Eviction Costs by State
Court fees, service costs, and writ fees vary by state. Click your state on the map below to view the complete eviction guide including exact filing fees, notice requirements, court procedures, and state-specific cost warnings.
— BODY CONTENT —
How Much Does an Eviction Cost? A Complete Breakdown by State
Eviction is expensive. Most landlords who have never been through the process significantly underestimate the total cost — focusing on the court filing fee, which is often the smallest number on the bill, while overlooking the lost rent, attorney costs, service fees, property damage, and re-leasing expenses that make a single bad eviction one of the most financially damaging events in a landlord’s career.
Understanding the full cost picture — broken down by state and by case type — is essential both for planning an active eviction and for understanding the true financial argument for rigorous tenant screening before the lease is ever signed.
The Direct Costs of an Eviction
The direct out-of-pocket costs of an eviction typically fall into four categories: court filing fees, process service fees, writ of possession fees, and attorney fees if the case is contested.
Court filing fees vary considerably by state and in some cases by county. At the low end, South Carolina’s magistrate court charges approximately $40 to file an eviction complaint — one of the lowest in the country. At the high end, Florida’s county courts charge approximately $185, and Georgia’s magistrate courts typically run $60 to $78 depending on the county. These fees are set by state statute and local court rules and are subject to change, which is why the estimator above pulls from regularly updated data rather than relying on static figures.
Process service fees cover the cost of having the court summons delivered to the tenant by a sheriff, constable, or process server. These typically run $25 to $75 depending on the state and the method required. Some states mandate sheriff service for the summons, others allow private process servers, and a handful permit service by posting and mailing in circumstances where the tenant cannot be located — each method carries a different cost.
Writ of possession fees cover the cost of having law enforcement execute the writ and physically remove the tenant if they have not vacated voluntarily after judgment. These fees are often in the $30 to $115 range, with Florida again on the higher end due to the sheriff’s role in the 24-hour notice and execution process.
Attorney fees are where costs can escalate dramatically. An uncontested eviction where the tenant does not respond and a default judgment is entered can sometimes be handled without an attorney, particularly in small claims and magistrate court systems designed for pro se landlords. A contested case — where the tenant files an answer, requests a jury trial, raises habitability defenses, or appeals the judgment — almost always warrants legal representation. Attorney fees for a contested eviction typically range from $500 on the low end for simple representation at a single hearing to $2,500 or more for cases that involve multiple court appearances, discovery, or appeal proceedings.
The Hidden Costs Most Landlords Miss
The direct court costs are only part of the picture. The costs that typically do the most financial damage are the ones that don’t appear on any court receipt.
Lost rent is the largest hidden cost for most landlords. Every day from the moment a tenant stops paying rent to the day the unit is re-leased to a new paying tenant is a day of zero income on a property that still carries a mortgage, insurance, taxes, and maintenance costs. On a $1,500 per month unit, a 60-day eviction process costs $3,000 in lost rent. On a $2,000 unit in a state where the process runs 90 to 120 days, lost rent alone reaches $6,000 to $8,000 before a single fee is counted.
Property damage is the second major hidden cost. Tenants who are being evicted — particularly those who know the process is underway — sometimes cause significant damage to the unit either intentionally or through neglect during the months the case is pending. Security deposits, where they exist, frequently do not cover the full cost of damage in cases that reach the eviction stage. Landlords routinely report spending $1,000 to $5,000 or more on cleaning, repairs, and replacement of fixtures and appliances after a contentious eviction.
Re-leasing costs add another layer. After a unit is vacated, the landlord typically faces advertising costs, screening costs for new applicants, potential cosmetic updates to make the unit competitive, and a vacancy period between the old tenant leaving and the new tenant moving in. Even a two-week vacancy between tenants on a $1,800 per month unit represents $900 in lost income on top of everything else.
What Evictions Actually Cost in Practice
When all costs are combined — direct fees, lost rent during the eviction process, property damage, and re-leasing expenses — the total cost of a single eviction in the United States typically falls between $3,500 and $10,000 for a straightforward uncontested case. Contested evictions in tenant-protective states with extended timelines can easily reach $15,000 to $25,000 or more when the full economic picture is accounted for.
These numbers are not outliers. They reflect the real financial experience of landlords who have been through the process in states across the country, and they underscore why experienced landlords treat tenant screening not as an optional step but as one of the most important financial decisions they make in the management of a rental property.
The Math on Tenant Screening
A thorough tenant screening — including a full background check, credit report, eviction history, income verification, and landlord reference check — typically costs between $20 and $50 per applicant. On an annual basis, even a landlord who screens 10 applicants per year spends $200 to $500 on screening.
Set that against the $3,500 to $10,000 average cost of a single eviction and the return on investment is not a close call. Tenant screening is the single most cost-effective risk management tool available to a residential landlord, and the cost estimator above exists in part to make that case with real numbers from real state data rather than abstract warnings.
Use the estimator above to calculate your specific state’s eviction costs, and click your state on the map to review the complete eviction procedure guide. For a complete picture of how long the process will take, pair this tool with the Eviction Timeline Calculator.
Browse All State Eviction Guides →
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Title: Eviction Cost Estimator | How Much Does an Eviction Cost by State
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Use the estimator below to calculate the total cost of an eviction in your state. Enter your state, monthly rent, and whether the case is likely to be contested to get a full cost breakdown including filing fees, service fees, writ costs, estimated attorney fees, and lost rent during the eviction process.
💰 Eviction Cost Estimator
Estimate the total cost of an eviction in your state including filing fees, service fees, writ fees, and attorney costs.
Underground Landlord— MAP INTRO —
Explore Eviction Costs by State
Court fees, service costs, and writ fees vary by state. Click your state on the map below to view the complete eviction guide including exact filing fees, notice requirements, court procedures, and state-specific cost warnings.
How Much Does an Eviction Cost? A Complete Breakdown by State
Eviction is expensive. Most landlords who have never been through the process significantly underestimate the total cost — focusing on the court filing fee, which is often the smallest number on the bill, while overlooking the lost rent, attorney costs, service fees, property damage, and re-leasing expenses that make a single bad eviction one of the most financially damaging events in a landlord’s career.
Understanding the full cost picture — broken down by state and by case type — is essential both for planning an active eviction and for understanding the true financial argument for rigorous tenant screening before the lease is ever signed.
The Direct Costs of an Eviction
The direct out-of-pocket costs of an eviction typically fall into four categories: court filing fees, process service fees, writ of possession fees, and attorney fees if the case is contested.
Court filing fees vary considerably by state and in some cases by county. At the low end, South Carolina’s magistrate court charges approximately $40 to file an eviction complaint — one of the lowest in the country. At the high end, Florida’s county courts charge approximately $185, and Georgia’s magistrate courts typically run $60 to $78 depending on the county. These fees are set by state statute and local court rules and are subject to change, which is why the estimator above pulls from regularly updated data rather than relying on static figures.
Process service fees cover the cost of having the court summons delivered to the tenant by a sheriff, constable, or process server. These typically run $25 to $75 depending on the state and the method required. Some states mandate sheriff service for the summons, others allow private process servers, and a handful permit service by posting and mailing in circumstances where the tenant cannot be located — each method carries a different cost.
Writ of possession fees cover the cost of having law enforcement execute the writ and physically remove the tenant if they have not vacated voluntarily after judgment. These fees are often in the $30 to $115 range, with Florida again on the higher end due to the sheriff’s role in the 24-hour notice and execution process.
Attorney fees are where costs can escalate dramatically. An uncontested eviction where the tenant does not respond and a default judgment is entered can sometimes be handled without an attorney, particularly in small claims and magistrate court systems designed for pro se landlords. A contested case — where the tenant files an answer, requests a jury trial, raises habitability defenses, or appeals the judgment — almost always warrants legal representation. Attorney fees for a contested eviction typically range from $500 on the low end for simple representation at a single hearing to $2,500 or more for cases that involve multiple court appearances, discovery, or appeal proceedings.
The Hidden Costs Most Landlords Miss
The direct court costs are only part of the picture. The costs that typically do the most financial damage are the ones that don’t appear on any court receipt.
Lost rent is the largest hidden cost for most landlords. Every day from the moment a tenant stops paying rent to the day the unit is re-leased to a new paying tenant is a day of zero income on a property that still carries a mortgage, insurance, taxes, and maintenance costs. On a $1,500 per month unit, a 60-day eviction process costs $3,000 in lost rent. On a $2,000 unit in a state where the process runs 90 to 120 days, lost rent alone reaches $6,000 to $8,000 before a single fee is counted.
Property damage is the second major hidden cost. Tenants who are being evicted — particularly those who know the process is underway — sometimes cause significant damage to the unit either intentionally or through neglect during the months the case is pending. Security deposits, where they exist, frequently do not cover the full cost of damage in cases that reach the eviction stage. Landlords routinely report spending $1,000 to $5,000 or more on cleaning, repairs, and replacement of fixtures and appliances after a contentious eviction.
Re-leasing costs add another layer. After a unit is vacated, the landlord typically faces advertising costs, screening costs for new applicants, potential cosmetic updates to make the unit competitive, and a vacancy period between the old tenant leaving and the new tenant moving in. Even a two-week vacancy between tenants on a $1,800 per month unit represents $900 in lost income on top of everything else.
What Evictions Actually Cost in Practice
When all costs are combined — direct fees, lost rent during the eviction process, property damage, and re-leasing expenses — the total cost of a single eviction in the United States typically falls between $3,500 and $10,000 for a straightforward uncontested case. Contested evictions in tenant-protective states with extended timelines can easily reach $15,000 to $25,000 or more when the full economic picture is accounted for.
These numbers are not outliers. They reflect the real financial experience of landlords who have been through the process in states across the country, and they underscore why experienced landlords treat tenant screening not as an optional step but as one of the most important financial decisions they make in the management of a rental property.
The Math on Tenant Screening
A thorough tenant screening — including a full background check, credit report, eviction history, income verification, and landlord reference check — typically costs between $20 and $50 per applicant. On an annual basis, even a landlord who screens 10 applicants per year spends $200 to $500 on screening.
Set that against the $3,500 to $10,000 average cost of a single eviction and the return on investment is not a close call. Tenant screening is the single most cost-effective risk management tool available to a residential landlord, and the cost estimator above exists in part to make that case with real numbers from real state data rather than abstract warnings.
Use the estimator above to calculate your specific state’s eviction costs, and click your state on the map to review the complete eviction procedure guide. For a complete picture of how long the process will take, pair this tool with the Eviction Timeline Calculator.