Neighborhood · Urban Honolulu, HI

Downtown Eviction Risk: Elevated

11 census tracts · pop 26,086 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 7.3/10 · range 6–8

Downtown is a 11-tract neighborhood of Urban Honolulu, HI, population 26,086. Scored across those inputs it reaches 7.3/10, placing it in the Elevated tier. Against a Urban Honolulu baseline of 32.4%, 50% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line.

The strongest single driver of the headline number is tenant-organizing strength at 9.2/10. 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.

The 11 tracts inside this boundary do not behave alike. Individual scores run 6 to 8, a 2-point gap wide enough that the area average misleads on any specific address. On the softer side is supply constraint, at 2/10. Sitting well above the midpoint is rent-regulation exposure at 7.3/10.

4.6% of adults carry no health insurance against 11.3% nationally, a common route into sudden unpayable debt. Among the 20 mapped neighborhoods of Urban Honolulu, it ranks #6 by risk, the upper third.

For a like-for-like read, Kakaako Waterfront and Kahauiki Village score within a fraction of it. Average gross rent runs $1,857, close to the Urban Honolulu average.

Annual rent works out to 28% of average household income of $80,694. 52% of occupied units are renter-occupied.

Underwrite the address, not the area: with 2 points between its best and worst tract, the per-tract table below is the operative number. Scores move when the ACS release, the court-record feed, or the statute ledger behind them moves.

Risk score

7.3

Elevated

11 tracts · population-weighted

Downtown vs Urban Honolulu How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average

% of income on rent

50.1% +55%

Urban Honolulu: 32.4%

Average gross rent

$1,857 +2%

Urban Honolulu: $1,823

Average HH income

$80,694 -6%

Urban Honolulu: $85,428

Poverty rate

12.3% +4%

Urban Honolulu: 11.9%

Renter share

52.1% +2%

Urban Honolulu: 51.1%

Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Downtown and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 11 tracts span score 6–8

Why Downtown scores 7.3

9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly

State political climate

legislature & governorship · Range 5.5–5.5 across tracts

5.5

Regional political climate

County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 6.3–6.3 across tracts

6.3

Local political climate

Parent city governance · Range 6.7–6.7 across tracts

6.7

Rent control risk

50% of income on rent · Range 7.3–7.3 across tracts

7.3

Eviction process difficulty

State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 5.0–5.0 across tracts

5.0

Tenant organizing strength

52% renter households · Range 9.2–9.2 across tracts

9.2

Housing court bias

County bench composition · Range 6.6–6.6 across tracts

6.6

Economic stress

12.3% below poverty line · Range 1.0–4.9 across tracts

3.1

Supply constraint

Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.0–3.9 across tracts

2.0

Risk score comparison

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

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Variance across tracts

How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Downtown?

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 points from 6 to 8. This neighborhood crosses multiple risk tiers, so block-by-block conditions vary substantially.

Tracts as heat grid

8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 7.9 7.6 7.4 7.2 6.2 6.0

Each square = one census tract. Color tracks the same green→red ramp as the chloropleth map above.

Census tracts

11 tracts in Downtown

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

Tract↕	Score↕	Pop↕	% over 30% on rent↕	Average rent↕
15003004102	8	2,577	68%	$1,461
15003004301	8	2,536	33%	$1,805
15003003501	8	2,380	42%	$1,929
15003003413	8	2,295	64%	$1,563
15003004101	8	1,447	60%	$1,578
15003003408	7.9	1,986	56%	$1,567
15003004000	7.6	1,468	67%	$2,197
15003003411	7.4	1,507	47%	$1,973
15003003606	7.2	2,868	50%	$1,691
15003003412	6.2	2,030	40%	$1,715
15003003802	6	4,992	42%	$2,403

Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 60

Pop-weighted across 11 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 41%ile

Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden

Household characteristics 46%ile

Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+

Racial/ethnic minority 87%ile

Hispanic + non-white share of population

Housing & transport 76%ile

Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle

CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted

Eviction-adjacent indicators in Downtown

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

9.9%Housing insecurity
5.3%Utility shutoff threat
16.3%Food insecurity
11.1%SNAP enrollment
4.5%No health insurance
26.4%Any disability

Frequently asked

About Downtown

What is the eviction-risk score for Downtown?

Downtown scores 7.3/10 (Elevated tier) across 11 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.

How does Downtown compare to Urban Honolulu overall?

Downtown scores 0.7 points higher than Urban Honolulu overall (6.6/10). Renters spend 50% of income on rent vs 32% citywide. Average rent: $1,857 vs $1,823.

What is the average rent in Downtown?

Average gross rent in Downtown is $1,857/month (pop-weighted across 11 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 50% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What percentage of Downtown residents are renters?

52% of Downtown households are renter-occupied (vs 51% in Urban Honolulu). The neighborhood has 26,086 residents.

Is Downtown a high social-vulnerability area?

Downtown sits in the 60th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (moderately vulnerable). The index combines poverty, unemployment, household composition, racial/ethnic minority share, and housing/transportation factors across all US census tracts.

Which tracts in Downtown have the highest eviction risk?

The highest-risk constituent tract in Downtown is census tract 15003004102 (score 8/10). Across the 11 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 6 to 8, a spread of 2 points.

How safe is Downtown for landlords?

Downtown carries a elevated-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (7.3/10). Pop-weighted across 11 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Urban Honolulu as a whole (6.6/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.

What is the demographic breakdown of Downtown?

Downtown has 24,886 residents. Top groups: Asian (non-Hispanic) (52%), Other / Multiracial (21.7%), White (non-Hispanic) (17.1%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.

Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Downtown

6.9 Lower Mānoa 13 tracts · pop 37,978 7.4 The Arts District 16 tracts · pop 44,976 7.4 Moiliili 33 tracts · pop 70,696 7.5 Kakaako Waterfront 4 tracts · pop 11,095 7.2 Kahauiki Village 12 tracts · pop 35,333 6.3 Kalihi Valley 5 tracts · pop 18,058

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Urban Honolulu

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Downtown.

7.3 Kakaako Waterfront 4 tracts · pop 11,095 7.2 Kahauiki Village 12 tracts · pop 35,333 7.4 Moiliili 33 tracts · pop 70,696 7.5 The Arts District 16 tracts · pop 44,976 7 Lower Mānoa 13 tracts · pop 37,978 7 Salt Lake 2 tracts · pop 3,902

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