Neighborhood · Ranked #18,240 of 84,120 nationally
Emerson Heights Eviction Risk: Moderate , Indianapolis
Tract 18097355300 ·
Marion County, IN · pop 2,529 · neighborhood within 0.1 mi
Here is how census tract 18097355300, in the Emerson Heights area of Indianapolis eviction risk city (balance), looks to a landlord: a $1/10 eviction-risk score (Elevated tier) across a population of 2,529. That is riskier than roughly 75% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.
Rent eats 30% or more of income for 55% of renter households, a severe level, and 25% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $934 a month while the average household earns $42,391 a year, roughly 26% of income at the averages. Renters make up 59% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
5.5
Moderate
Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 32%Stable renters 27%Owners 41%
Tract context
Occupied units1,152
Renter share58.7%
SVI overall0.69
Poverty rate29.1%
Median income$42,391
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within neighborhood
50th percentile
#1 of 1 tracts In Emerson Heights
Moderate
Within parent city
85th percentile
#35 of 231 tracts In Indianapolis
High
Within county
88th percentile
#32 of 253 tracts In Marion County
High
Within state
92th percentile
#131 of 1,693 tracts In Indiana
Very High
Geographic context
Risk heat across Indianapolis and the region
Centroid at 39.7782, -86.0897 · click any tract to drill in
Why Emerson Heights scores 5.5
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly
Local political climate
Inherited from Indianapolis
6.8
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
6.5
State political climate
Indiana legislature & governorship
2.0
Economic stress
29.1% poverty · this tract
7.3
Supply constraint
$934 rent vs county FMR
2.3
Rent control risk
Inherited from Indianapolis
6.6
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
2.1
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Indianapolis
8.7
Housing court bias
Inherited from Indianapolis
6.8
How Emerson Heights compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 69
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
93%Socioeconomic
74%Household composition
60%Racial/ethnic minority
15%Housing & transportation
Historical context · 1930s redlining
HOLC grade: B: Still Desirable
This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade B meant middle-class areas with mortgage access. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.
0%Grade A
75%Grade B
25%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.
Eviction filings
Court-record eviction history
Court-validated eviction filings collected from county clerks and consolidated by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households.1
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
478Total filings 2020-21
6.2Avg monthly (observed)
10.8Pre-pandemic baseline
0.57×Ratio to baseline
Monthly filings 2020–20212020-01-01 to 2026-05-01
Pandemic filings ran far below baseline (moratorium effect). Eviction Lab tracked Indianapolis, IN as part of its 34-metro Eviction Tracking System.
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.
16.8%Housing insecurity
13.7%Utility-shutoff threat
22.6%Food insecurity
16.0%SNAP enrollment
11.5%Transit barriers
11.9%No health insurance
19.6%Frequent mental distress
32.7%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Emerson Heights
The heaviest input here is tenant organizing strength at 8.7/10. That part comes from the wider legal climate rather than the tract itself. Statewide and court-level factors such as eviction-process speed and rent-control exposure are inherited from Indianapolis eviction risk city (balance), while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.
Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Marion County average of 5.4 and above the Indiana statewide average of 4.7. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.
The tract is predominantly White and ranks around the 69th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. That is a middle-of-the-pack reading for social vulnerability.
During 2020 and 2021, eviction filings here ran at about 0.57x the pre-COVID monthly baseline, well below the pre-pandemic norm, the signature of an eviction moratorium at work.
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 18097355300
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18097355300?
Census tract 18097355300 in the Emerson Heights neighborhood scores 5.5/10 (Moderate tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.
Q2
What is the average rent in tract 18097355300?
Median gross rent is $934/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 55% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 18097355300?
29.1% of residents in tract 18097355300 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,529.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 18097355300?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 69th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 93th, household 74th, minority 60th, housing 15th.
Q5
Is tract 18097355300 considered part of Emerson Heights?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18097355300 fall within Emerson Heights (neighborhood centroid within 0.1 miles, OSM data).
Q6
Did eviction filings in tract 18097355300 drop during COVID?
Pandemic-era filings ran 0.57× the pre-COVID monthly baseline. Filings dropped sharply, likely a moratorium effect. Tracked by the Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Indianapolis eviction risk, IN), 2020-2021.
Q7
What share of households in tract 18097355300 struggle to pay rent?
About 16.8% 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. 13.7% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 18097355300 compare to Indianapolis overall?
Tract 18097355300 scores 5.5/10, higher than the parent city of Indianapolis at 2.7/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Indianapolis eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q9
Was tract 18097355300 historically redlined?
Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of B. 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 Indianapolis
Top eight tracts in Indianapolis ranked by composite eviction-risk score.