How Long Does an Eviction Take in Each State? A State-by-State Data Breakdown

We analyzed 8,335 eviction cases managed through Hemlane’s platform and found that the typical case resolved in about 6 days. (See the full report here). But the state-by-state spread is wide.In the fastest states the median case closes in under a day, and in the slowest it stretches to roughly three weeks. 

We measured the wall-clock time from case open to case close for every resolved case and broke it out by state. The state you operate in sets the ceiling on an eviction timeline, not the typical case. Most cases resolve early, well before any state's court process comes into play. The states that look slow are slow at the court stage, because their statutes require more steps to get there. For routine cases that resolve on a payment or a move-out, the state matters far less than how early the case is worked.

Fastest states to resolve an eviction

These states posted the lowest median resolution times among states with at least 10 resolved cases. We report medians here, not averages, because a single drawn-out court case can distort the average in a small-sample state.

In the fastest states, the typical case is resolved almost immediately, which means it ended on a payment or an agreement rather than a contested process. California is the clearest example: despite a reputation for tenant-friendly law and slow courts, its median case resolved in about 5 days across nearly 400 cases, because the large majority never reached the court stage where California's timelines get long.

Slowest states to resolve an eviction

These states posted the highest medians among states with at least 10 resolved cases.

The slow end is about court process. New Jersey, for example, requires multiple court appearances to complete an eviction, and its average case ran to roughly 57 days, far above its 15-day median, which tells you a meaningful share of its cases ran through the full court process. Nevada and DC sit at the top of the median list but on small samples, so treat their exact ranking as directional rather than precise. The pattern is reliable even where the individual numbers are thin: slower states are slower because of court steps, not because their tenants behave differently.

Highest-volume states

These states produced the most eviction activity in the dataset, which makes their numbers the most reliable.

Across the highest-volume states, medians cluster between about 3 and 8 days. These are the numbers to trust most, because they rest on hundreds of cases each. The takeaway holds even in the busiest, most litigated markets: the typical case resolves in under a week, and the long timelines are concentrated in the small share that reach court.

What this means for your portfolio

If you operate across multiple states, the right read of this data is not "avoid the slow states." It is "resolve cases before the state's court process ever applies."

Prevent evictions with Hemlane’s Eviction Shield

Running this process yourself, the correct notice, the right timing, clean records, in every state you operate, is a lot to get right. Hemlane's Eviction Shield does it for you. For $4.95 per month per door, Hemlane's team:

1. Calls the tenant about three days after rent is due to understand the situation.
2. Works out a payment plan and shares resources to get the balance current.
3. If that does not resolve it, serves the proper notice through local process servers, following each state's rules.
4. If a case still needs to escalate, refers the owner to a vetted, affordable local attorney.

Our team has been able to resolve over 90% of Eviction Shield cases to date, recovering more than $90,000 in rent in one month alone across our customers.

Eviction Shield is available on any Hemlane plan and across all 50 states.

About Hemlane

Hemlane is property management software backed by real people, built for operators running 10 to 200 units. The platform handles the full day-to-day of running rentals: online rent collection with automatic late fees, lease management with state-specific templates and e-signing, tenant screening, 24/7 maintenance and repair coordination, leasing, and owner accounting.

What makes it work across markets is the team behind the software: coordinated leasing help, a vetted local vendor network, and delinquency and eviction support available in all 50 states. You get local coverage in every market without staffing for it.

Schedule a demo or start a free account.

Frequently asked questions

Which state has the fastest evictions?

In this dataset, Mississippi and Alaska posted the fastest median resolution times at about 0.4 days, meaning the typical case there closed almost immediately on a payment or agreement. Among high-volume states, Michigan was fastest at about 3.3 days.

Which state has the slowest evictions?

Nevada, Washington DC, and New Jersey posted the highest medians, with Nevada around 21 days. New Jersey's average ran to roughly 57 days because of court-process requirements, though its sample is small. Treat the exact slow-state ranking as directional.

Does state law determine how long my eviction will take?

State law sets the ceiling, the longest a contested case can run, but not the typical timeline. Most cases resolve early, before the state court process applies. The biggest driver of your actual timeline is how early the case gets worked.

Why is California so fast in this data when it is known for slow evictions?

California's reputation comes from its court timelines, which are long. But most cases never reach court. Across nearly 400 California cases the median was about 5 days, because the large majority resolved on a payment or move-out first.

Methodology

Based on 8,335 eviction cases managed through Hemlane, of which 4,208 were completed and timed. Resolution time is wall-clock days from case creation to completion. State figures are reported as medians. States with fewer than 10 resolved cases are excluded from the ranked tables, and small-sample states are flagged as directional. First-party Hemlane data, June 2026. No third-party data sources.