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Hibernia, New Jersey eviction risk overview
City brief · 115 residents

Hibernia, NJ Eviction Risk: ELEVATED

Morris County · Population 115

In 2026
Risk score
6.8
ELEVATED

33th percentile, New Jersey.

50-yr Eviction Risk Score history

1976 to 2026 · climbing fast since 2010

Min1.4 Average3.1 Now6.8
10 5 1976 · score 1.6 1977 · score 1.6 1978 · score 1.7 1979 · score 1.8 1980 · score 1.4 1981 · score 1.5 1982 · score 1.5 1983 · score 1.5 1984 · score 1.4 1985 · score 1.4 1986 · score 1.4 1987 · score 1.4 1988 · score 1.6 1989 · score 1.7 1990 · score 1.7 1991 · score 1.7 1992 · score 2.3 1993 · score 2.3 1994 · score 2.4 1995 · score 2.4 1996 · score 3.0 1997 · score 3.0 1998 · score 3.1 1999 · score 3.2 2000 · score 2.8 2001 · score 2.9 2002 · score 3.0 2003 · score 3.0 2004 · score 2.9 2005 · score 2.9 2006 · score 3.0 2007 · score 3.1 2008 · score 3.5 2009 · score 3.6 2010 · score 3.7 2011 · score 3.8 2012 · score 3.8 2013 · score 3.9 2014 · score 4.0 2015 · score 4.0 2016 · score 4.2 2017 · score 4.4 2018 · score 4.6 2019 · score 4.8 2020 · score 5.5 2021 · score 5.5 2022 · score 5.5 2023 · score 5.5 2024 · score 5.3 2025 · score 5.7 2026 · score 6.8

Key metrics

Estimated values: The U.S. Census suppresses field-level data for small places. Estimated from county average, pop-weighted from real underlying ACS data.
Time machine

Scrub 50 years

2026
● LIVE · today ◀ REPLAY · historical

Nine-axis profile

9-axis profile · today

Shape of the risk surface

1 landlord · 10 tenant
Local 5.7 Regional 5.7 State 6.8 Economic 1.0 Supply 5.7 Rent Control 5.6 Eviction 6.2 Tenant 5.7 Housing 4.8 6.8 ELEVATED
Sub-scores · with sparkline

Where the score comes from

1 → 10 scale
  1. Local political climate
    GOP margin +2.7% (2024)
    5.7
  2. Regional political climate
    County-weighted neighbor mix
    5.7
  3. State political climate
    New Jersey legislature & governorship
    6.8
  4. Economic stress
    6.1% poverty · 4.7% unemp.
    1.0
  5. Supply constraint
    $2,019 average · 28.7% renters
    5.7
  6. Rent Control risk
    29.8% of income on rent
    5.6
  7. Eviction process difficulty
    196 days filing → judgment
    6.2
  8. Tenant organizing strength
    28.7% renters
    5.7
  9. Housing court bias
    County bench composition
    4.8
Geographic context

Risk heat across Hibernia and the region

Click any city to see its score

How Hibernia compares

Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Morris County
Elevated
#15 of 49 cities
Rank in county, 71st percentileBottomTop
#15 of 49 cities in Morris County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in New Jersey
Low
#478 of 696 cities
Rank in state, 31st percentileBottomTop
#478 of 696 cities in New Jersey for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Hibernia risk score vs. county / state / U.S.Hibernia: 6.86.8HiberniaThis cityCounty: 6.56.5Countyavg in countyState: 7.77.7Stateavg in stateU.S.: 5.25.2U.S.national avg
Score story

Six-stop tour of the risk profile

  1. 6.8
    / 10 · ELEVATED
    The verdict

    A Elevated-tier market.

    Composite 6.8/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a sharp climb.

    50-yr trend+5.2 over 50 yr
    197620012026

    Steepening since 2010 · COVID inflection visible

  2. 196d
    Typical timeline
    The money

    What renting (and evicting) looks like.

    Rent published at $2,019/mo. A contested eviction takes 196 days and costs $9,639-$22,595 per case.

    50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
    197620012026

    Court-clerk data lands in the next release.

  3. 28.7%
    Renters
    The renters

    Who you'll be renting to.

    Out of 115 residents, 28.7% rent. 30% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 6.1% below the poverty line.

    50-yr trendRenter share rising
    197620012026

    ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.

  4. 5.7
    Local + regional
    The politics

    Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.

    Local & regional political climate score 5.7 and 5.7 (GOP margin +2.7% (2024)). State climate at 6.8, a mid-range statehouse.

    50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
    197620012026

    Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.

  5. 6.8
    State politics
    The process

    Moderate calendar, moderate friction.

    State political climate 6.8/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 6.2, housing court bias 4.8, rent-control risk 5.6. Standard process speed for the state.

    50-yr trendProcess difficulty +1.2 since '00
    197620012026

    Court-clerk data lands in the next release.

  6. 1
    Economic stress
    The stress

    Economic pressure is the background risk.

    Economic stress: 1. Supply constraint: 5.7. The numbers behind those: 6.1% poverty, 4.7% unemployment, 30% of income on rent.

    50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
    197620012026

    Mirrors BLS unemployment series.

US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost

Hibernia sits in the slow & expensive quadrant

Bubble size = population · color = risk score
QUICK BUT COSTLY fast docket · high all-in loss SLOW & EXPENSIVE long calendar · high all-in loss QUICK & CHEAP fast docket · low all-in loss SLOW BUT CHEAP long calendar · low all-in loss 30d 50d 75d 100d 150d 200d 300d 450d $2.0k $3.0k $5.0k $7.5k $10k $15k $20k $30k EVICTION TIMELINE (DAYS) → ↑ ALL-IN COST (LOG SCALE) Newark, NJ · 165d · ~$16.3k all-in ($99/day) · score 9 Newark Jersey City, NJ · 163d · ~$18.6k all-in ($114/day) · score 9.3 Jersey City Paterson, NJ · 185d · ~$17.8k all-in ($96/day) · score 8.6 Paterson Elizabeth, NJ · 165d · ~$16.5k all-in ($100/day) · score 8.4 Elizabeth Clifton, NJ · 170d · ~$19.3k all-in ($114/day) · score 8 Clifton Bayonne, NJ · 180d · ~$17.2k all-in ($95/day) · score 8.3 Bayonne East Orange, NJ · 195d · ~$15.6k all-in ($80/day) · score 9.2 East Orange Passaic, NJ · 177d · ~$17.7k all-in ($100/day) · score 8.6 Passaic Union City, NJ · 179d · ~$17.7k all-in ($99/day) · score 9 Union City Hoboken, NJ · 195d · ~$15.5k all-in ($80/day) · score 7.7 Hoboken Houston, TX · 24d · ~$2.5k all-in ($103/day) · score 2.7 Houston Phoenix, AZ · 38d · ~$3.3k all-in ($86/day) · score 3.9 Phoenix Memphis, TN · 31d · ~$2.0k all-in ($66/day) · score 4.6 Memphis Atlanta, GA · 40d · ~$2.8k all-in ($69/day) · score 5.5 Atlanta Boston, MA · 187d · ~$20.3k all-in ($109/day) · score 6.8 Boston Chicago, IL · 109d · ~$9.0k all-in ($82/day) · score 6.3 Chicago New York, NY · 417d · ~$29.5k all-in ($71/day) · score 9.8 New York Seattle, WA · 162d · ~$12.7k all-in ($79/day) · score 6.2 Seattle Hibernia
Hibernia · 196d · ~$16.1k all-in ($82/day) · score 6.8 National average: 58d · $4.6k all-in Hover any bubble for stats · click to open Color: 0-4   4-7   7-10
00Overview

About eviction risk in Hibernia, NJ

Landlording in Hibernia, New Jersey, presents an elevated-friction market where documented notices and proactive screening matter. The Eviction Risk Score is 6.8/10 (ELEVATED tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Elevated-friction market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.

Hibernia is a city of 115 residents where 28.7% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 29.8% of income on rent. At an average rent of $2,019/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.

01Process

How Hibernia eviction process actually works

Eviction process difficulty here reads 6.2/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Hibernia closes 196 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.

The slow part of Hibernia's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 4.8/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.

02Cost

What it costs (and how long it takes)

An all-in eviction in Hibernia runs $9,639 to $22,595 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.

For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1-2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 196 days of typical timeline and $2,019/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.

03Operations

Security deposits, screening, and lease terms

Tenant organizing strength scores 5.7/10 in Hibernia, and the city has limited rent control exposure (5.6/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:

  • Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
  • Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
  • Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In New Jersey, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
  • Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy

What an everyday landlord should actually do here

If you own one to four units in Hibernia: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a ELEVATED tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.

The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match New Jersey's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $22,595 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.

04bPractical traps

Local traps to avoid in Hibernia

Trap · 4.2 POINTS
Morris County voted Democratic by 4.2 points in 2020, a baseline that correlates with tenant-protective legislative pressure under NJSA 2A:18-61.1 Anti-Eviction Act.
05FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Q1

Can I evict a tenant for any reason in Hibernia?

No. New Jersey has a statewide "just cause" eviction requirement, codified in the Anti-Eviction Act (N.J.S.A. § 2A:18). You can only evict a tenant for specific, legally defined reasons, such as non-payment of rent, property damage, or breach of lease terms. You cannot simply decide you want the property back.

Q2

How much can I charge for a security deposit in Hibernia?

You can charge a maximum of 1.50 months' rent for a security deposit. This limit applies across New Jersey, including Hibernia. Exceeding this cap is a violation of state law. Find more information at New Jersey security deposit rules.

Q3

What if my tenant pays with a Section 8 voucher?

New Jersey has statewide source-of-income protection. This means you cannot refuse to rent to a tenant solely because they use a Section 8 voucher or other lawful source of income. You must consider their application like any other, based on standard screening criteria.

Q4

How long do I have to return a security deposit after a tenant moves out?

You have 30 days from the date the tenant vacates the property to return their security deposit or provide an itemized list of deductions. Failing to do so can result in you owing the tenant double the amount of the deposit wrongfully withheld.

Q5

Is rent control a risk in Hibernia?

While Hibernia itself doesn't currently have local rent control, New Jersey has a rent-control-risk sub-score of 5.6/10. This indicates an elevated potential for future rent control measures at the local or state level. Always stay informed about local ordinances and state legislative changes. Our New Jersey rent control rules page offers more context.

Q6

When should I hire an attorney for an eviction in Hibernia?

You should consult an attorney as soon as a tenant fails to pay rent or violates a significant lease term, especially after your initial informal communications and any required notices have been served. New Jersey's landlord-tenant laws are complex, and even minor errors can lead to significant delays and costs. Don't wait until you're in court. For county-specific advice, also look at our Morris County eviction guide.

06Score

What this score means for landlords2

A 6.8/10 places Hibernia in the 33rd percentile of New Jersey cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has risen sharply since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.