6 census tracts · pop 14,040 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 5.3/10
· range 5–5.4
Ensley spans 6 census tracts of Birmingham, AL, population 14,040. The Eviction Risk Score is 5.3/10, in the Moderate tier. Cost burden runs 54% against 32.9% citywide, putting Ensley 20.6% over its own city.
37% are severely burdened, paying half their income or more in rent. That cohort has no absorption capacity for an unexpected bill, and it is where non-payment filings originate. Food insecurity affects 42.4% of adults, 24.6 points above the national rate.
SNAP participation is 38.3% of households versus 15.2% nationally. Pulling the other way is rent-regulation exposure, at 1/10.
Annualized rent equals 32% of average household income here, past the 30% affordability line, which compresses the margin any screening standard has to work with. The poverty rate is 28%, which shows up in this model as reduced rent-recovery odds after a judgment.
On the softer side is supply constraint, at 2.1/10. At $903 a month, rents sit 18% under what the rest of Birmingham commands.
Court records carry 2,163 eviction filings across its 6 observed tracts. The worst year on record was 2016, when filings touched 14.0% of renter households.
Well under the midpoint is housing-court posture, at 3/10.
With little internal variation, 5.3/10 is a fair proxy for any address inside the boundary. Scores move when the ACS release, the court-record feed, or the statute ledger behind them moves.
Risk score
5.3
Moderate
6 tracts · population-weighted
Ensley vs BirminghamHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority95%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport56%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Ensley
Aggregated across 6 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
2,163Total filings (sum)
5.75%Avg annual filing rate
14.0%Peak year (2016)
6.17%Latest filed (2016)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Ensley
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
30.2%Housing insecurity
24.2%Utility shutoff threat
43.3%Food insecurity
39.8%SNAP enrollment
13.5%No health insurance
47.3%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Ensley
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Ensley?
Ensley scores 5.3/10 (Moderate tier) across 6 census tracts. The pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income and poverty signals.
Q2
How does Ensley compare to Birmingham overall?
Ensley scores 1.3 points higher than Birmingham overall (4/10). Renters spend 54% of income on rent vs 33% citywide. Average rent: $903 vs $1,107.
Q3
What is the average rent in Ensley?
Average gross rent in Ensley is $903/month (pop-weighted across 6 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 54% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Ensley residents are renters?
55% of Ensley households are renter-occupied (vs 55% in Birmingham). The neighborhood has 14,040 residents.
Q5
Is Ensley a high social-vulnerability area?
Ensley sits in the 88th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (highly vulnerable). The index combines poverty, unemployment, household composition, racial/ethnic minority share, and housing/transportation factors across all US census tracts.
Q6
Which tracts in Ensley have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Ensley is census tract 01073003700 (score 5.4/10). Across the 6 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 5 to 5.4, a spread of 0.4 points.
Q7
How safe is Ensley for landlords?
Ensley carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (5.3/10). Pop-weighted across 6 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Birmingham as a whole (4/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Ensley?
Ensley has 13,574 residents. Top groups: Black (non-Hispanic) (83.7%), Other / Multiracial (8.1%), White (non-Hispanic) (5%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
