4 census tracts · pop 7,382 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 4.8/10
· range 4.5–5
Mertz is a 4-tract neighborhood of Mobile, AL and houses 7,382 people. Scored across those inputs it reaches 4.8/10, placing it in the Moderate tier. Food insecurity affects 50.1% of adults, 32.3 points above the national rate.
The severe-burden share is 33%. Those renters are past the 50% mark, and they miss rent for reasons that have nothing to do with willingness to pay. CDC survey data puts housing insecurity at 34.5% of adults, against 14.2% nationally. Against a Mobile baseline of 33.0%, 45% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line.
The main counterweight is rent-regulation exposure, at 1/10. The poverty rate is 34%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than the filing statistics suggest. Court records carry 1,638 eviction filings across its 4 observed tracts.
At $907 a month, rents sit 15% under what the rest of Mobile commands. Well under the midpoint is tenant-organizing strength, at 3/10. Filing activity peaked in 2006 at 30.4% of renter households.
Running cool is housing-court posture, at 3/10. The most recent observed rate, 7.1% in 2016, is well off that peak.
With little internal variation, 4.8/10 is a fair proxy for any address inside the boundary. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.
Risk score
4.8
Moderate
4 tracts · population-weighted
Mertz vs MobileHow 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 & transport53%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Mertz
Aggregated across 4 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
1,638Total filings (sum)
8.10%Avg annual filing rate
30.4%Peak year (2006)
7.83%Latest filed (2016)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Mertz
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
31.3%Housing insecurity
24.8%Utility shutoff threat
45.1%Food insecurity
41.9%SNAP enrollment
14.5%No health insurance
46.6%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Mertz
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Mertz?
Mertz scores 4.8/10 (Moderate tier) across 4 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 Mertz compare to Mobile overall?
Mertz scores 1.2 points higher than Mobile overall (3.6/10). Renters spend 45% of income on rent vs 33% citywide. Average rent: $907 vs $1,068.
Q3
What is the average rent in Mertz?
Average gross rent in Mertz is $907/month (pop-weighted across 4 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 45% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Mertz residents are renters?
61% of Mertz households are renter-occupied (vs 46% in Mobile). The neighborhood has 7,382 residents.
Q5
Is Mertz a high social-vulnerability area?
Mertz sits in the 81st 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 Mertz have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Mertz is census tract 01097001400 (score 5/10). Across the 4 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 4.5 to 5, a spread of 0.5 points.
Q7
How safe is Mertz for landlords?
Mertz carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (4.8/10). Pop-weighted across 4 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Mobile as a whole (3.6/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Mertz?
Mertz has 7,299 residents. Top groups: Black (non-Hispanic) (89.8%), White (non-Hispanic) (6.4%), Other / Multiracial (3.6%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
