Skip to content
Neighborhood · Santa Barbara, CA

Waterfront Eviction Risk: High

1 census tracts · pop 3,969 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 8.5/10 · range 8.5–8.5

Waterfront maps to a single census tract in Santa Barbara, CA, population 3,969. It carries an Eviction Risk Score of 8.5/10, in the High tier. 58% of renters here are cost-burdened at the 30% threshold, far above the Santa Barbara rate of 33.4%.

What pushes the score up most is tenant-organizing strength at 9.6/10. The severe-burden share is 31%. Those renters are past the 50% mark, and they miss rent for reasons that have nothing to do with willingness to pay. 86% of occupied units are rented, so comparables are plentiful and vacancy risk is low, but a mispriced renewal loses the tenant to a building two streets over.

Set annual rent against average household income of $82,826 and the ratio lands at 33%, above the conventional 30% ceiling. Sitting well above the midpoint is rent-regulation exposure at 7.7/10.

Running cool is supply constraint, at 2.6/10. The poverty rate is 16%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than the filing statistics suggest.

That places it #2 of 7 neighborhoods in Santa Barbara. For a like-for-like read, East Side and Funk Zone 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. Average gross rent runs $2,295, close to the Santa Barbara average.

Because the boundary contains one tract, 8.5/10 is simultaneously the area figure and the address-level figure. Scores move when the ACS release, the court-record feed, or the statute ledger behind them moves.

Risk score
8.5
High
1 tracts · population-weighted
Waterfront vs Santa Barbara How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
% of income on rent
57.8% +73%
Santa Barbara: 33.4%
Average gross rent
$2,295 -5%
Santa Barbara: $2,413
Average HH income
$82,826 -19%
Santa Barbara: $101,672
Poverty rate
16.3% +25%
Santa Barbara: 13.1%
Renter share
85.5% +42%
Santa Barbara: 60.1%
Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Waterfront and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 1 tracts span score 8.5–8.5

Why Waterfront scores 8.5

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 6.6–6.6 across tracts
6.6
Local political climate
Parent city governance · Range 6.9–6.9 across tracts
6.9
Rent control risk
58% of income on rent · Range 7.7–7.7 across tracts
7.7
Eviction process difficulty
State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 6.7–6.7 across tracts
6.7
Tenant organizing strength
86% renter households · Range 9.6–9.6 across tracts
9.6
Housing court bias
County bench composition · Range 7.0–7.0 across tracts
7.0
Economic stress
16.3% below poverty line · Range 4.1–4.1 across tracts
4.1
Supply constraint
Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 2.6–2.6 across tracts
2.6
Risk score comparison

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

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Waterfront score vs. parent city, state, U.S.8.5WaterfrontNeighborhood7.8Parent cityhost city7.6Stateavg in state5.1U.S.national avgU.S. avg = 5.0
Census tracts

1 tracts in Waterfront

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

Tract Score Pop % over 30% on rent Average rent
06083001206 8.5 3,969 58% $2,295
Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 84

Pop-weighted across 1 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 93%ile
Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden
Household characteristics 21%ile
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority 75%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport 89%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted

Eviction-adjacent indicators in Waterfront

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

Frequently asked

About Waterfront

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for Waterfront?

Waterfront scores 8.5/10 (High tier) across 1 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 Waterfront compare to Santa Barbara overall?

Waterfront scores 0.7 points higher than Santa Barbara overall (7.8/10). Renters spend 58% of income on rent vs 33% citywide. Average rent: $2,295 vs $2,413.
Q3

What is the average rent in Waterfront?

Average gross rent in Waterfront is $2,295/month (pop-weighted across 1 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 58% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4

What percentage of Waterfront residents are renters?

86% of Waterfront households are renter-occupied (vs 60% in Santa Barbara). The neighborhood has 3,969 residents.
Q5

Is Waterfront a high social-vulnerability area?

Waterfront 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

How safe is Waterfront for landlords?

Waterfront carries a high-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (8.5/10). Pop-weighted across 1 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Santa Barbara as a whole (7.8/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q7

What is the demographic breakdown of Waterfront?

Waterfront has 3,673 residents. Top groups: Hispanic / Latino (46.7%), White (non-Hispanic) (42.9%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (7.2%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Waterfront

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Santa Barbara

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Waterfront.

Zoom out

Up the geography chain · or explore further