Cameron County, Pennsylvania Eviction Risk: Moderate

Cameron County, Pennsylvania scores 4.4/10 (Moderate) on average across its 4 cities, placing it at rank 54 of 67 Pennsylvania counties, where rank 1 is the highest-risk. That means 53 Pennsylvania counties carry more eviction risk, and only 13 are more landlord-friendly, putting Cameron County in the lower-risk third of the state. For a landlord or investor sizing up a small, rural market, that standing offers modest reassurance, though the county's average rent of $682 and a renter share of 39.9% suggest a relatively thin rental pool where vacancy can sting.

The intra-county spread runs from 2.6 to 4.4/10, a gap of 1.6 points across very small communities. With a total population of just 2,263, individual properties can move occupancy metrics significantly. A rent burden rate of 28% and a poverty rate of 17.1% are worth watching: tenants at the margin of affordability represent elevated collection risk even in a nominally moderate-risk county.

The cities inside Cameron County

Emporium is the clear risk leader in the county, scoring 4.6/10 and home to the overwhelming majority of local renters, with a population of 1,975. Any landlord operating in Cameron County is almost certainly operating in Emporium, making that city's dynamics the story for the county as a whole. Karthaus comes in at 3.2/10 with a population of 212, a meaningful step down in risk but still a small, constrained market.

The lowest-risk communities are Driftwood at 3.1/10 (population 45) and Sinnamahoning at 3.1/10 (population 31). These scores reflect the limited tenant pool and relatively stable occupancy dynamics in very small settlements. Risk here is genuinely hyper-local: an investor in Emporium faces a materially different operating environment than one holding property in Driftwood, even though both are technically in the same county.

State-level laws that apply here

Pennsylvania law governs the eviction process uniformly across Cameron County. Under the Pennsylvania eviction process, notice requirements vary by reason: landlords must give 10 days notice for nonpayment of rent, 15 days for a material breach where the tenancy is under one year, and 30 days for a material breach on a tenancy of one year or more. End-of-lease-term terminations require no advance notice. An uncontested case typically resolves in 30 to 60 days; a contested matter can stretch to 60 to 150 days.

Pennsylvania eviction costs break down as follows: court filing fees range from $130 to $250, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $150, and attorney fees typically run $500 to $3,000, depending on complexity. Pennsylvania does not require just cause for eviction and the state preempts local rent-control ordinances, so no municipality in Cameron County can impose a rent cap. For a full picture of what renters can and cannot do under state law, the Pennsylvania tenant protections and Pennsylvania security deposit limits guides cover the renter-side rules landlords must also know.

With a poverty rate of 17.1% and a renter share of 39.9%, Cameron County's rental market is small but not without collection risk; review the city-level scores in the grid above to identify which communities carry the most exposure before committing capital.