Within neighborhood
100
th percentile
Very High
Neighborhood · Ranked #24,859 of 84,120 nationally
Watson Park Eviction Risk: Moderate , Indianapolis
Tract 18097350500 · Marion County, IN · pop 2,384 · neighborhood within 1.1 mi
Tract 18097350500 sits in the Watson Park area of Indianapolis eviction risk, IN, carrying an eviction-risk score of 5.4/10. Population here is 2,384. The severe-burden share is 45%, and it is the single best predictor in this model of a filing that actually reaches judgment.
Risk score
5.4
Moderate
Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 18%
Stable renters 15%
Owners 67%
Tract context
Occupied units973
Renter share32.2%
SVI overall0.91
Poverty rate31.7%
Median income$41,117
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
75
th percentile
Elevated
Within county
86
th percentile
High
Within state
95
th percentile
Very High
Geographic context
Risk heat across Indianapolis and the region
Centroid at 39.8215, -86.1234 · click any tract to drill in
Why Watson Park scores 5.4
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal 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
31.7% poverty · this tract
7.9
Supply constraint
$961 rent vs county FMR
2.5
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 Watson Park compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 91
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 93%Socioeconomic
- 97%Household composition
- 90%Racial/ethnic minority
- 46%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
- 1%Grade B
- 96%Grade C
- 3%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)
- 432Total filings 2020-21
- 5.6Avg monthly (observed)
- 7.3Pre-pandemic baseline
- 0.77×Ratio to baseline
Pandemic filings ran below baseline. Eviction Lab tracked Indianapolis, IN as part of its 34-metro Eviction Tracking System.
Comparable tracts
Census tracts with similar eviction risk
Within Watson 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.
- 28.8%Housing insecurity
- 25.3%Utility-shutoff threat
- 39.2%Food insecurity
- 32.3%SNAP enrollment
- 19.1%Transit barriers
- 14.0%No health insurance
- 20.9%Frequent mental distress
- 41.0%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Watson Park
What pushes it up most is tenant-organizing strength at 8.7/10. SNAP participation runs 32.3% against 15.2% nationally.
The poverty rate is 32%, which in this model reads as reduced rent-recovery odds after a judgment. Inability to pay a utility bill runs 25.3% against 9.2% nationally. Utility arrears usually lead rent arrears by a month or two.
Running cool, state political climate reads 2/10. 55% of renter households cross the 30%-of-income line, above the Marion County average of 46.3%. On the high side, economic stress reads 7.9/10.
It sits 1.2 points above the Marion County average of 4.2. At $961 a month, rents run 17% under what the rest of Indianapolis commands. This ground was mapped C ("Definitely Declining") on the 1930s HOLC security maps for Indianapolis. That grading determined who could get a mortgage, and its imprint on tenure and rent burden is still visible in the ACS data above.
Nationally it ranks #24,859 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty. On the CDC Social Vulnerability Index the tract reads 9.2/10, which tracks how hard a shock lands on the households already here.
Statewide the IN average is 3.9, so this tract runs 1.5 points hotter.
All figures here are ACS 5-year estimates for this tract, refreshed as the underlying releases land.
Frequently asked
About tract 18097350500
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18097350500?
Census tract 18097350500 in the Watson Park neighborhood scores 5.4/10 (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 18097350500?
Median gross rent is $961/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 55% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 18097350500?
31.7% of residents in tract 18097350500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,384.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 18097350500?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 91th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 93th, household 97th, minority 90th, housing 46th.
Q5
Is tract 18097350500 considered part of Watson Park?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18097350500 fall within Watson Park (neighborhood centroid within 1.1 miles, OSM data).
Q6
Did eviction filings in tract 18097350500 drop during COVID?
Pandemic-era filings ran 0.77× the pre-COVID monthly baseline. Filings ran modestly below normal. Tracked by the Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Indianapolis eviction risk, IN), 2020-2021.
Q7
What share of households in tract 18097350500 struggle to pay rent?
About 28.8% 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. 25.3% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 18097350500 compare to Indianapolis overall?
Tract 18097350500 scores 5.4/10, higher than the parent city of Indianapolis at 4/10. 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 18097350500 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. 3% 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.
Tract · IN
Venerable Flackville
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · IN
Fountain Square
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · IN
Watermark
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · IN
18097330806
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · IN
Rivoli Park
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · IN
Christian Park
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · IN
18097320903
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · IN
North Brookside
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Related