1 census tracts · pop 2,999 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 8.1/10
· range 8.1–8.1
Essex maps to a single census tract in Chicago, IL and houses 2,999 people. That produces an Eviction Risk Score of 8.1/10, High tier. The severe-burden share is 46%. 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 71% against 29.3% citywide, putting Essex 41.9% over its own city. Set annual rent against average household income of $38,034 and the ratio lands at 40%, above the conventional 30% ceiling. 65% 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.
The strongest single driver of the headline number is tenant-organizing strength at 8/10. Food insecurity affects 35.0% of adults, 17.2 points above the national rate.
19.3% of adults report being unable to pay a utility bill, against a 9.2% national figure. Utility arrears usually lead rent arrears by a month or two. The poverty rate is 26%, which shows up in this model as reduced rent-recovery odds after a judgment.
Running cool is supply constraint, at 2.2/10. Court records for this tract carry 792 eviction filings. Running hot is eviction-process difficulty at 7.5/10.
At $1,270 a month, rents sit 12% under what the rest of Chicago commands. The worst year on record was 2001, when filings touched 9.8% of renter households.
One tract means one number: 8.1/10 applies directly to any address inside the boundary. Scores move when the ACS release, the court-record feed, or the statute ledger behind them moves.
Risk score
8.1
High
1 tracts · population-weighted
Essex vs ChicagoHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority96%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport96%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Essex
Aggregated across 1 validated constituent tract. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
792Total filings (sum)
8.32%Avg annual filing rate
9.8%Peak year (2001)
7.62%Latest filed (2015)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Essex
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
28.8%Housing insecurity
19.3%Utility shutoff threat
35.0%Food insecurity
36.0%SNAP enrollment
10.7%No health insurance
33.5%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Essex
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Essex?
Essex scores 8.1/10 (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 Essex compare to Chicago overall?
Essex scores 1.4 points higher than Chicago overall (6.7/10). Renters spend 71% of income on rent vs 29% citywide. Average rent: $1,270 vs $1,440.
Q3
What is the average rent in Essex?
Average gross rent in Essex is $1,270/month (pop-weighted across 1 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 71% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Essex residents are renters?
65% of Essex households are renter-occupied (vs 54% in Chicago). The neighborhood has 2,999 residents.
Q5
Is Essex a high social-vulnerability area?
Essex sits in the 89th 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 Essex for landlords?
Essex carries a high-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (8.1/10). 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 Chicago as a whole (6.7/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q7
What is the demographic breakdown of Essex?
Essex has 2,974 residents. Top groups: Black (non-Hispanic) (89.7%), Other / Multiracial (4.3%), White (non-Hispanic) (3.4%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
