Santa Maria Eviction Risk: High

37% are severely burdened past the 50% mark. That cohort absorbs no shock: one repair bill or one cut shift converts straight into arrears. What pushes it up most is tenant-organizing strength at 9/10. SNAP participation runs 34.5% against 15.2% nationally.

On the softer side, court filing pressure reads 1.8/10. It sits 1.4 points above the Santa Barbara County average of 7.0. Running cool, supply constraint reads 2/10.

The poverty rate is 19%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than filing counts suggest. Inability to pay a utility bill runs 14.9% against 9.2% nationally. Utility arrears usually lead rent arrears by a month or two.

At $2,113 a month, rents run 10% over what the rest of Santa Maria commands. On the national scale it lands near the 93rd percentile of the 84,120 tracts scored. On the CDC Social Vulnerability Index the tract reads 8.6/10, which tracks how hard a shock lands on the households already here.

Statewide the CA average is 7.5, so this tract runs 0.9 points hotter.

These are ACS 5-year estimates; the score moves when the ACS, court-record, or statute inputs behind it move.