Neighborhood · Ranked #13,119 of 84,120 nationally

Downtown Gary Eviction Risk: Moderate

Tract 18089010205 · Lake County, IN · pop 1,745 · neighborhood within 1.1 mi

Tract 18089010205 covers the Downtown Gary neighborhood of Gary in Indiana. Home to 1,745 residents, it scores 6.5/10 on landlord eviction risk. That is riskier than roughly 87% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.

Rent eats 30% or more of income for 54% of renter households, a severe level, and 28% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $914 monthly, set against $28,356 in average yearly household income, roughly 39% of income at the averages. Renters make up 82% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score

5.9

Moderate

Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 44% Stable renters 37% Owners 19%

Tract context

Occupied units595

Renter share81.8%

SVI overall0.98

Poverty rate40.0%

Median income$28,356

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Gary and the region

Centroid at 41.6118, -87.3194 · click any tract to drill in

Why Downtown Gary scores 5.9

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Gary

6.2

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

5.8

State political climate

Indiana legislature & governorship

2.0

Economic stress

40.0% poverty · this tract

10.0

Supply constraint

$914 rent vs county FMR

2.6

Rent control risk

Inherited from Gary

8.2

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

2.3

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Gary

9.3

Housing court bias

Inherited from Gary

8.7

How Downtown Gary compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 98

CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.

87%Socioeconomic
99%Household composition
94%Racial/ethnic minority
91%Housing & transportation

Historical context · 1930s redlining

HOLC grade: C: Definitely Declining

This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade C meant mixed-race / working-class neighborhoods rated as risky. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.

1%Grade A
0%Grade B
4%Grade C
1%Grade D · redlined

Source: Mapping Inequality (americanpanorama.org), 1935-1940 HOLC residential security maps, aggregated to 2020 census tracts by area share. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Within Downtown Gary. Closest by Eviction Risk Score.

CDC PLACES 2023 · health & economic stress

Eviction-adjacent indicators

Crude prevalence of conditions linked to housing loss. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh), 2023 model-based small-area estimates.

27.7%Housing insecurity
25.3%Utility-shutoff threat
41.6%Food insecurity
34.8%SNAP enrollment
19.4%Transit barriers
12.6%No health insurance
19.9%Frequent mental distress
43.2%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Downtown Gary

The heaviest input here is economic stress at $1/10. That part is specific to this tract, computed from its own rent, income, and poverty figures. Statewide and court-level factors such as eviction-process speed and rent-control exposure are inherited from Gary eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Lake County average of 5.2 and above the Indiana statewide average of 4.7. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

Part of this tract, about 1% of its area, sat in the redlined grade-D zone on 1930s HOLC maps, though its dominant grade was C ("Declining"). That lending history still correlates with present-day rent burden.

In CDC survey modeling, about 27.7% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 25.3% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

For a landlord, this is a tract where process discipline pays off. Clean paperwork and steady screening keep the elevated risk manageable.

Frequently asked

About tract 18089010205

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18089010205?

Census tract 18089010205 in the Downtown Gary neighborhood scores 5.9/10 (Moderate tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.

What is the average rent in tract 18089010205?

Median gross rent is $914/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 54% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 18089010205?

40.0% of residents in tract 18089010205 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 1,745.

How socially vulnerable is tract 18089010205?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 98th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 87th, household 99th, minority 94th, housing 91th.

Is tract 18089010205 considered part of Downtown Gary?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18089010205 fall within Downtown Gary (neighborhood centroid within 1.1 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 18089010205 struggle to pay rent?

About 27.7% of adults in this tract reported housing insecurity (could not pay rent or mortgage in the past 12 months), per the CDC PLACES 2023 model-based small-area estimate. 25.3% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 18089010205 compare to Gary overall?

Tract 18089010205 scores 5.9/10, higher than the parent city of Gary at 3.1/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Gary eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 18089010205 historically redlined?

Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of C. 1% of the tract's area was rated D ("Hazardous"), the redlined tier. HOLC redlining systematically denied mortgage credit to Black, immigrant, and working-class neighborhoods and remains a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings, rent burden, and homeownership gaps. Source: Mapping Inequality (americanpanorama.org), Robert K. Nelson et al.

Sibling tracts

Highest-risk tracts in Gary

Top eight tracts in Gary ranked by composite eviction-risk score.