25 census tracts · pop 99,779 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 9.5/10
· range 7.4–9.9
Watts is a 25-tract neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA and houses 99,779 people. That produces an Eviction Risk Score of 9.5/10, High tier. 63% of renters here are cost-burdened at the 30% threshold, far above the Los Angeles rate of 35.0%.
The severe-burden share is 35%. Those renters are past the 50% mark, and they miss rent for reasons that have nothing to do with willingness to pay. The strongest single driver of the headline number is tenant-organizing strength at 9.5/10. SNAP participation is 40.0% of households versus 15.2% nationally.
CDC survey data puts housing insecurity at 34.0% of adults, against 14.2% nationally. Running hot is rent-regulation exposure at 9.3/10.
Internally this is not one market. Tract scores span 7.4 to 9.9, so two buildings inside the same boundary can carry materially different risk. 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.
On the softer side is supply constraint, at 1.3/10. At $1,518 a month, rents sit 21% under what the rest of Los Angeles commands.
The poverty rate is 23%, which shows up in this model as reduced rent-recovery odds after a judgment. That places it #67 of 161 neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
Underwrite the address, not the area: with 2.5 points between its best and worst tract, the per-tract table below is the operative number. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.
Risk score
9.5
High
25 tracts · population-weighted
Watts vs Los AngelesHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority99%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport67%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Watts
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
34.1%Housing insecurity
16.4%Utility shutoff threat
42.6%Food insecurity
40.5%SNAP enrollment
24.4%No health insurance
42.5%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Watts
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Watts?
Watts scores 9.5/10 (High tier) across 25 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 Watts compare to Los Angeles overall?
Watts scores 0.3 points lower than Los Angeles overall (9.8/10). Renters spend 63% of income on rent vs 35% citywide. Average rent: $1,518 vs $1,933.
Q3
What is the average rent in Watts?
Average gross rent in Watts is $1,518/month (pop-weighted across 25 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 63% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Watts residents are renters?
58% of Watts households are renter-occupied (vs 64% in Los Angeles). The neighborhood has 99,779 residents.
Q5
Is Watts a high social-vulnerability area?
Watts sits in the 92nd 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 Watts have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Watts is census tract 06037240700 (score 9.9/10). Across the 25 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 7.4 to 9.9, a spread of 2.5 points.
Q7
How safe is Watts for landlords?
Watts carries a high-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (9.5/10). Pop-weighted across 25 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Los Angeles as a whole (9.8/10), this neighborhood is lower-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Watts?
Watts has 98,258 residents. Top groups: Hispanic / Latino (81.6%), Black (non-Hispanic) (15.5%), Other / Multiracial (1.3%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
