3 census tracts · pop 14,489 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 8.8/10
· range 8.2–9.5
Japantown takes in 3 census tracts of San Luis Obispo, CA and houses 14,489 people. It carries an Eviction Risk Score of 8.8/10, in the High tier. The severe-burden share is 40%. Those renters are past the 50% mark, and they miss rent for reasons that have nothing to do with willingness to pay.
Cost burden runs 63% against 44.7% citywide, putting Japantown 18.4% over its own city. What pushes the score up most is tenant-organizing strength at 9.6/10.
Sitting well above the midpoint is rent-regulation exposure at 9.5/10. Running hot is housing-court posture at 9.3/10.
The poverty rate is 25%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than the filing statistics suggest. The 3 tracts inside this boundary do not behave alike. Individual scores run 8.2 to 9.5, a 1.3-point gap wide enough that the area average misleads on any specific address.
At $2,199 a month, rents sit 12% over what the rest of San Luis Obispo commands. That places it #5 of 5 neighborhoods in San Luis Obispo.
The closest comparables inside the same city are Little Italy and Mill Street District. Annual rent works out to 31% of average household income of $86,148.
56% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
For a specific building, read the per-tract breakdown below rather than the 8.8 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
8.8
High
3 tracts · population-weighted
Japantown vs San Luis ObispoHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority46%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport65%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Japantown
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
11.1%Housing insecurity
6.8%Utility shutoff threat
14.3%Food insecurity
14.3%SNAP enrollment
6.6%No health insurance
30.2%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Japantown
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Japantown?
Japantown scores 8.8/10 (High tier) across 3 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 Japantown compare to San Luis Obispo overall?
Japantown scores 0.7 points higher than San Luis Obispo overall (8.1/10). Renters spend 63% of income on rent vs 45% citywide. Average rent: $2,199 vs $1,965.
Q3
What is the average rent in Japantown?
Average gross rent in Japantown is $2,199/month (pop-weighted across 3 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 63% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Japantown residents are renters?
56% of Japantown households are renter-occupied (vs 60% in San Luis Obispo). The neighborhood has 14,489 residents.
Q5
Is Japantown a high social-vulnerability area?
Japantown sits in the 43rd percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (less 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 Japantown have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Japantown is census tract 06079011202 (score 9.5/10). Across the 3 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 8.2 to 9.5, a spread of 1.3 points.
Q7
How safe is Japantown for landlords?
Japantown carries a high-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (8.8/10). Pop-weighted across 3 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to San Luis Obispo as a whole (8.1/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Japantown?
Japantown has 14,230 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (73.4%), Hispanic / Latino (13.9%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (7%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
