Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Eviction Risk: Elevated

Philadelphia County carries an average eviction-risk score of 5.5/10 (High), the highest of any county in Pennsylvania, ranking 1 of 67 counties statewide, meaning no county is riskier for landlords. Across the 7 tracked cities inside the county, scores range from 7.2 to 7.9, a compressed band that tells a consistent story: operating conditions throughout Philadelphia County demand careful tenant screening, disciplined lease enforcement, and realistic underwriting of eviction timelines and costs. With an average rent of $1,398 and an average rent-burden rate of 31.4%, a meaningful share of tenants are already stretched thin before any income disruption occurs.

The county's total population of 1,594,979 is overwhelmingly concentrated in a single city, which means aggregate county statistics reflect Philadelphia's dynamics more than any suburban community. Still, even the lower-scoring edge of the county sits at 7.2/10, and no city inside Philadelphia County falls below the High-risk threshold. Landlords accustomed to operating in lower-risk Pennsylvania markets, such as Allegheny County at 6.5/10 or York County at 6.4/10, will find the margin for underwriting error here is substantially smaller.

The cities inside Philadelphia County

Philadelphia itself scores 5.5/10 with a population of 1,579,706, and it anchors the high end of the county range. Feasterville follows at 7.8/10, while Wynnewood, Andalusia, and Cornwells Heights all score 7.7/10. Melrose Park scores 7.5/10. The widest gap from the top is Oak Lane, the lowest-scoring city in the county at 7.2/10, with a population of 4,210. The spread between best and worst is only 0.7 points, which is narrow for a county of this size. Investors should not interpret the lower scores as meaningfully safer operating environments; the differences reflect degrees of the same underlying High-risk conditions rather than a genuinely landlord-friendly pocket.

Because risk is hyper-local even within a single ZIP code, city-level scores matter more than the county average for any specific acquisition decision. A landlord buying in Feasterville faces a slightly different cost and timeline profile than one buying in Oak Lane, even though both cities sit in the same county and both land in High-risk territory.

State-level laws that apply here

Under Pennsylvania state law, specifically 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq. (Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951), notice requirements before filing vary by circumstance. Nonpayment of rent requires a 10-day notice under 68 P.S. § 250.501(b). A material breach during a tenancy under one year triggers a 15-day notice, while a tenancy of one year or more requires 30 days, both under 68 P.S. § 250.501(a). End-of-lease evictions require no additional notice period beyond the lease terms. After notice expires, landlords can file in magistrate court; filing fees run $130 to $250, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $150, and attorney fees typically range $500 to $3,000. An uncontested case resolves in roughly 30 to 60 days; a contested case can stretch to 60 to 150 days. Understanding the full Pennsylvania eviction process is essential before acquiring any income property here, because the fee and timeline ranges are wide and a contested case can significantly erode returns. Pennsylvania does not impose just-cause eviction requirements at the state level, and it preempts local rent control ordinances statewide, so landlords are not subject to a rent cap formula. The Pennsylvania eviction costs, including filing fees, lockout fees, and attorney time on a contested case, can approach or exceed the cost of one month's rent in lower-rent units, making loss mitigation at the application stage the most cost-effective risk control available. Pennsylvania security deposit limits and Pennsylvania tenant protections under 68 P.S. § 250.205 (retaliation) and 68 P.S. § 250.206 (habitability) also apply across every city in this county and should be reviewed before drafting lease terms.

With an average poverty rate of 21.9% and 48% of residents renting rather than owning, the underlying demand for rental housing is real, but so is the collection risk; use the city grid above to compare scores across all 7 tracked cities before committing to a specific submarket.