Somerset County, Pennsylvania Eviction Risk: Moderate

Somerset County carries an average eviction-risk score of 4/10 (Moderate) across its 29 tracked cities, placing it at rank 50 of 67 Pennsylvania counties, meaning 49 counties in the state score higher and only 17 are more landlord-friendly. For investors evaluating western Pennsylvania's rural interior, that positioning puts Somerset County in the lower-risk third of the state, a meaningful advantage over many urban and suburban markets. Average rent runs $731 per month, rent burden sits at 28.9% of income, and roughly 27.4% of residents rent, figures that reflect a modest, working-class rental base rather than a high-churn tenant pool.

The county-wide average, however, obscures a real spread. Individual city scores range from 2.6 to 5.2, a gap wide enough to shift a property from genuinely low-risk territory to the top of the county's risk tier depending on which municipality you buy in. Landlords should treat that intra-county range as the operative number when underwriting a specific acquisition.

The cities inside Somerset County

At the high-risk end, Friedens scores 5.2/10 despite a population of only 1,018, topping every other city in the county. The borough of Somerset, the county seat with 5,944 residents and the largest rental market locally, scores 5/10, and Confluence follows at 4.8/10. Those three cities alone represent the portion of the county where tenant-side economic stress and eviction-filing rates are most concentrated. Landlords already active in these markets should price rent levels and screening criteria accordingly.

The contrast on the low end is equally stark. Central City scores 2.6/10 with a population of 1,105, the most landlord-favorable reading in the county. Meyersdale comes in at 3.8/10 among the larger markets. Windber and Berlin each score 4/10, essentially matching the county average. The data confirm that risk in Somerset County is hyper-local: two properties a few miles apart can sit in meaningfully different risk tiers, which makes city-level due diligence non-negotiable.

State-level laws that apply here

Every landlord in Somerset County operates under Pennsylvania state law, specifically the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq. Notice requirements vary by situation: nonpayment of rent triggers a 10-day notice under 68 P.S. § 250.501(b); a material breach in a tenancy under one year requires 15 days; and a material breach in a tenancy of one year or more requires 30 days. End-of-lease terminations require no advance notice period beyond the lease terms. Pennsylvania has no statewide just-cause eviction requirement and no rent control, and state law preempts any local attempt to impose rent caps, so Somerset County's municipalities cannot layer on additional restrictions. Understanding the full Pennsylvania eviction process, from notice through hearing to writ of possession, typically runs 30 to 60 days for uncontested cases and 60 to 150 days when contested.

On the cost side, landlords should budget for court filing fees of $130 to $250, sheriff lockout fees of $50 to $150, and attorney fees ranging from $500 to $3,000 depending on case complexity. Those Pennsylvania eviction costs add up quickly if a tenant contests or delays, which is why proactive screening and lease drafting matter more than many rural-market landlords assume. Source-of-income is not a protected class under Pennsylvania state law, though the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission enforces other fair-housing obligations.

With a poverty rate averaging 13.5% across Somerset County and only about 27.4% of residents renting, the tenant pool is relatively small and concentrated, making city-level scores in the grid above the most reliable guide for pinpointing where operating risk is lowest.