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Neighborhood · Salinas, CA

Chinatown Eviction Risk: High

7 census tracts · pop 28,549 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 8.3/10 · range 7–9.3

Chinatown takes in 7 census tracts of Salinas, CA, population 28,549. Scored across those inputs it reaches 8.3/10, placing it in the High tier. 49% of renters here are cost-burdened at the 30% threshold, markedly above the Salinas rate of 32.2%.

The dominant input is tenant-organizing strength at 9.3/10. 25% 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. Scores across the 7 constituent tracts range from 7 to 9.3. A 2.3-point internal spread means block-level underwriting beats area-level here.

Running cool is supply constraint, at 1.3/10. The poverty rate is 18%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than the filing statistics suggest. 20.4% of adults carry no health insurance against 11.3% nationally, a common route into sudden unpayable debt.

Food insecurity affects 29.0% of adults, 11.2 points above the national rate. On the high side is rent-regulation exposure at 7.3/10.

Average gross rent is $1,853, 7% below the Salinas average of $1,991. That places it #3 of 9 neighborhoods in Salinas.

For a like-for-like read, Sunset and Natividad score within a fraction of it. Social vulnerability runs high at 8.6/10, concentrating the disaster- and displacement-exposure this model treats as a lagging risk input. Annual rent works out to 27% of average household income of $81,988.

65% of occupied units are renter-occupied.

For a specific building, read the per-tract breakdown below rather than the 8.3 headline, because the internal range is too wide to average safely. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.

Risk score
8.3
High
7 tracts · population-weighted
Chinatown vs Salinas How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
% of income on rent
49.0% +52%
Salinas: 32.2%
Average gross rent
$1,853 -7%
Salinas: $1,991
Average HH income
$81,988 -8%
Salinas: $89,150
Poverty rate
18.0% +26%
Salinas: 14.3%
Renter share
64.7% +22%
Salinas: 53.0%
Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Chinatown and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 7 tracts span score 7–9.3

Why Chinatown scores 8.3

9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly
State political climate
legislature & governorship · Range 6.8–6.8 across tracts
6.8
Regional political climate
County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 7.1–7.1 across tracts
7.1
Local political climate
Parent city governance · Range 8.2–8.2 across tracts
8.2
Rent control risk
49% of income on rent · Range 7.3–7.3 across tracts
7.3
Eviction process difficulty
State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 6.8–6.8 across tracts
6.8
Tenant organizing strength
65% renter households · Range 9.3–9.3 across tracts
9.3
Housing court bias
County bench composition · Range 7.0–7.0 across tracts
7.0
Economic stress
18.0% below poverty line · Range 1.2–9.6 across tracts
4.5
Supply constraint
Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.0–1.9 across tracts
1.3
Risk score comparison

Chinatown vs. parent city, state, U.S.

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Chinatown score vs. parent city, state, U.S.Chinatown: 8.38.3ChinatownNeighborhoodParent city: 7.97.9Parent cityhost cityState: 7.67.6Stateavg in stateU.S.: 5.15.1U.S.national avgU.S. avg = 5.0
Variance across tracts

How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Chinatown?

Left: distribution of constituent tract scores. Right: every tract as a heat square. Click any square to drill in.

Score distribution
0246810
Spread of 2.3 points from 7 to 9.3. This neighborhood crosses multiple risk tiers, so block-by-block conditions vary substantially.
Tracts as heat grid
Each square = one census tract. Color tracks the same green→red ramp as the chloropleth map above.
Census tracts

7 tracts in Chinatown

Ranked highest-risk first. Click for per-tract detail.

Tract Score Pop % over 30% on rent Average rent
06053000501 9.3 5,231 62% $1,782
06053001300 9.3 2,562 43% $1,548
06053001802 8.7 5,436 47% $2,027
06053001200 8.6 3,356 38% $1,824
06053001700 7.6 4,441 46% $1,728
06053001400 7.6 3,030 53% $1,847
06053001801 7 4,493 48% $2,047
Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 84

Pop-weighted across 7 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 78%ile
Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden
Household characteristics 63%ile
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority 87%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport 84%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted

Eviction-adjacent indicators in Chinatown

Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.

Frequently asked

About Chinatown

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for Chinatown?

Chinatown scores 8.3/10 (High tier) across 7 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 Chinatown compare to Salinas overall?

Chinatown scores 0.4 points higher than Salinas overall (7.9/10). Renters spend 49% of income on rent vs 32% citywide. Average rent: $1,853 vs $1,991.
Q3

What is the average rent in Chinatown?

Average gross rent in Chinatown is $1,853/month (pop-weighted across 7 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 49% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4

What percentage of Chinatown residents are renters?

65% of Chinatown households are renter-occupied (vs 53% in Salinas). The neighborhood has 28,549 residents.
Q5

Is Chinatown a high social-vulnerability area?

Chinatown sits in the 84th 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 Chinatown have the highest eviction risk?

The highest-risk constituent tract in Chinatown is census tract 06053000501 (score 9.3/10). Across the 7 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 7 to 9.3, a spread of 2.3 points.
Q7

How safe is Chinatown for landlords?

Chinatown carries a high-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (8.3/10). Pop-weighted across 7 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Salinas as a whole (7.9/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8

What is the demographic breakdown of Chinatown?

Chinatown has 29,331 residents. Top groups: Hispanic / Latino (76.2%), White (non-Hispanic) (15.2%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (4.6%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Chinatown

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Salinas

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Chinatown.

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