Cambria County, Pennsylvania Eviction Risk: Moderate

Cambria County, Pennsylvania eviction laws earns an average eviction-risk score of 4/10 (Moderate), placing it 40th out of 67 Pennsylvania counties, where rank 1 is the highest-risk jurisdiction. That position means 39 counties carry more landlord risk, and 27 are more landlord-friendly, putting Cambria squarely in the middle third of the state. For an investor sizing up a market with an average rent of $721, a rent burden of 27.7%, and a renter share of 29%, that middle placement is not an endorsement of smooth sailing; it reflects a county where conditions vary enough that property selection matters as much as market selection.

The 57 cities and boroughs inside Cambria County span a risk range of 2.9 to 6.5, a gap wide enough to separate genuinely easy-to-manage communities from high-delinquency, high-turnover ones. Landlords who treat the county average as their operating baseline will consistently misread their actual exposure at the address level.

The cities inside Cambria County

The most demanding market in the county is Dale, which scores 6.5/10, the highest in Cambria County. Just below it sits Johnstown, the county's largest city at a population of 18,087, with a score of 6/10. Westmont, with roughly 4,855 residents, follows at 5.2/10. South Fork, Patton, Cresson, Loretto, and Salix each score 5/10. These communities cluster around structural stressors: tight incomes, older housing stock, and limited tenant-screening leverage in small rental pools.

The county's lower-risk cities tell a different story. Northern Cambria scores 3.3/10, and Elim and Geistown each score 3.4/10. Belmont comes in at 3.5/10. Ebensburg, the county seat, sits at a more moderate 4.3/10. Hyper-local risk is real here: a landlord operating in Northern Cambria faces a fundamentally different environment than one in Dale, despite both falling under the same county umbrella. Portfolio decisions in Cambria County need to be made city by city, not county-wide.

State-level laws that apply here

Pennsylvania state law, specifically 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq. (Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951), governs the entire Pennsylvania eviction process from notice through lockout. For nonpayment of rent, landlords must serve a 10-day notice before filing. A material breach triggers a 15-day notice for tenancies under one year, or a 30-day notice for tenancies of one year or more. At lease end, no advance notice is required to begin proceedings. Uncontested cases typically resolve in 30 to 60 days; contested matters can stretch to 60 to 150 days. Court filing fees run $130 to $250, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $150, and attorney fees, if retained, range from $500 to $3,000. Pennsylvania does not require just cause for nonrenewal, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so no municipality in Cambria County can impose a rent cap. For a detailed breakdown of what each stage costs, see Pennsylvania eviction costs. Landlords focused on tenant screening and lease compliance should also review Pennsylvania tenant protections to understand where state law draws the line on retaliation and habitability obligations.

With an average poverty rate of 18.7% across the county, the risk environment is uneven, and the city-by-city grid above is the fastest way to see which communities in Cambria County fall above or below that 4/10 county average.