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Neighborhood · Chicago, IL

Kensington Eviction Risk: High

1 census tracts · pop 1,915 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 8.1/10 · range 8.1–8.1

Kensington is a one-tract neighborhood of Chicago, IL and houses 1,915 people. Scored across those inputs it reaches 8.1/10, placing it in the High tier. 47% of renters here are cost-burdened at the 30% threshold, clearly above the Chicago rate of 29.3%.

CDC survey data puts housing insecurity at 40.3% of adults, against 14.2% nationally. Annualized rent equals 44% of average household income here, past the 30% affordability line, which compresses the margin any screening standard has to work with. 29.6% of adults carry no health insurance against 11.3% nationally, a common route into sudden unpayable debt.

Pulling the other way is supply constraint, at 1.2/10. The poverty rate is 31%, which shows up in this model as reduced rent-recovery odds after a judgment. Average gross rent is $1,097, 24% below the Chicago average of $1,440.

Running hot is tenant-organizing strength at 8/10. Sitting well above the midpoint is economic stress at 7.8/10.

Court records for this tract carry 390 eviction filings. Severe burden reaches 10%. A tenant at that level absorbs no shock: one cut shift or one repair bill converts directly into arrears.

The worst year on record was 2003, when filings touched 7.6% of renter households. Recent filings have not receded much: 5.5% in 2015 against a 7.6% peak.

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
Kensington vs Chicago How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
% of income on rent
46.5% +59%
Chicago: 29.3%
Average gross rent
$1,097 -24%
Chicago: $1,440
Average HH income
$29,747 -60%
Chicago: $75,134
Poverty rate
31.2% +85%
Chicago: 16.8%
Renter share
63.6% +18%
Chicago: 54.0%
Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Kensington and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 1 tracts span score 8.1–8.1

Why Kensington scores 8.1

9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly
State political climate
legislature & governorship · Range 5.2–5.2 across tracts
5.2
Regional political climate
County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 7.5–7.5 across tracts
7.5
Local political climate
Parent city governance · Range 8.5–8.5 across tracts
8.5
Rent control risk
47% of income on rent · Range 5.5–5.5 across tracts
5.5
Eviction process difficulty
State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 7.5–7.5 across tracts
7.5
Tenant organizing strength
64% renter households · Range 8.0–8.0 across tracts
8.0
Housing court bias
County bench composition · Range 6.5–6.5 across tracts
6.5
Economic stress
31.2% below poverty line · Range 7.8–7.8 across tracts
7.8
Supply constraint
Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.2–1.2 across tracts
1.2
Risk score comparison

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

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Kensington score vs. parent city, state, U.S.Kensington: 8.18.1KensingtonNeighborhoodParent city: 6.76.7Parent cityhost cityState: 5.15.1Stateavg in stateU.S.: 5.15.1U.S.national avgU.S. avg = 5.0
Census tracts

1 tracts in Kensington

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

Tract Score Pop % over 30% on rent Average rent
17031530100 8.1 1,915 46% $1,097
Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 96

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

Socioeconomic status 100%ile
Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden
Household characteristics 98%ile
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority 99%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport 43%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab

Court-record eviction history in Kensington

Aggregated across 1 validated constituent tract. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

  • 390Total filings (sum)
  • 5.33%Avg annual filing rate
  • 7.6%Peak year (2003)
  • 5.47%Latest filed (2015)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted

Eviction-adjacent indicators in Kensington

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

Frequently asked

About Kensington

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for Kensington?

Kensington 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 Kensington compare to Chicago overall?

Kensington scores 1.4 points higher than Chicago overall (6.7/10). Renters spend 47% of income on rent vs 29% citywide. Average rent: $1,097 vs $1,440.
Q3

What is the average rent in Kensington?

Average gross rent in Kensington is $1,097/month (pop-weighted across 1 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 47% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4

What percentage of Kensington residents are renters?

64% of Kensington households are renter-occupied (vs 54% in Chicago). The neighborhood has 1,915 residents.
Q5

Is Kensington a high social-vulnerability area?

Kensington sits in the 96th 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 Kensington for landlords?

Kensington 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 Kensington?

Kensington has 1,858 residents. Top groups: Hispanic / Latino (54.1%), Black (non-Hispanic) (40.6%), Other / Multiracial (4.6%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Kensington

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Chicago

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Kensington.

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