Neighborhood · Ranked #18,163 of 84,120 nationally

University Park Eviction Risk: Elevated , Gary

Tract 18089012300 · Lake County, IN · pop 2,431 · neighborhood within 0.8 mi

18089012300 is a census tract in the University Park area of Gary, IN. It scores 6/10 for landlords. The score leans hardest on tenant-organizing strength at 9.3/10.

Risk score

Elevated

Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 31% Stable renters 26% Owners 43%

Tract context

Occupied units958

Renter share57.2%

SVI overall0.83

Poverty rate31.9%

Median income$39,776

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Gary and the region

Centroid at 41.5585, -87.3227 · click any tract to drill in

Why University Park scores 6

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

31.9% poverty · this tract

8.0

Supply constraint

$1,171 rent vs county FMR

4.8

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 University Park compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 83

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

92%Socioeconomic
92%Household composition
86%Racial/ethnic minority
26%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.

0%Grade A
3%Grade B
34%Grade C
0%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 University Park. 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.

29.4%Housing insecurity
26.2%Utility-shutoff threat
43.4%Food insecurity
36.2%SNAP enrollment
20.4%Transit barriers
13.7%No health insurance
21.1%Frequent mental distress
42.5%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in University Park

The severe-burden share is 26%, and it is the single best predictor in this model of a filing that actually reaches judgment. Against Lake County at 43.0%, 55% of renters here are cost-burdened.

Set annual rent against average income of $39,776 and the ratio lands at 35%, above the conventional 30% ceiling. Running hot, housing-court posture reads 8.7/10.

Inability to pay a utility bill runs 26.2% against 9.2% nationally. Utility arrears usually lead rent arrears by a month or two. The poverty rate is 32%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than filing counts suggest.

Housing insecurity runs 29.4% against 14.2% nationally. Against the Lake County average of 4.4, this tract reads riskier for landlords by 1.6 points.

Sitting well above the midpoint, rent-regulation exposure reads 8.2/10. At $1,171 a month, rents run 16% over what the rest of Gary commands. In the 1930s the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation graded this ground C ("Definitely Declining"). Redlining cut off mortgage credit to whole blocks for decades, and the areas graded D still carry measurably lower ownership and higher rent burden today.

On the national scale it lands near the 78th percentile of the 84,120 tracts scored.

All figures here are ACS 5-year estimates for this tract, refreshed as the underlying releases land.

Frequently asked

About tract 18089012300

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18089012300?

Census tract 18089012300 in the University Park neighborhood scores 6/10 (Elevated 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 18089012300?

Median gross rent is $1,171/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 55% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 18089012300?

31.9% of residents in tract 18089012300 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,431.

How socially vulnerable is tract 18089012300?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 83th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 92th, household 92th, minority 86th, housing 26th.

Is tract 18089012300 considered part of University Park?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18089012300 fall within University Park (neighborhood centroid within 0.8 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 18089012300 struggle to pay rent?

About 29.4% 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. 26.2% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 18089012300 compare to Gary overall?

Tract 18089012300 scores 6/10, higher than the parent city of Gary at 4.6/10. 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 18089012300 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. 0% 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.