Martin Luther King Jr. Park Eviction Risk: Moderate
1 census tracts · pop 2,486 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 4.8/10
· range 4.8–4.8
Martin Luther King Jr. Park maps to a single census tract in Des Moines, IA and houses 2,486 people. The Eviction Risk Score is 4.8/10, in the Moderate tier. 46% of renters here are cost-burdened at the 30% threshold, well above the Des Moines rate of 29.6%.
The clearest offset is rent-regulation exposure, at 1/10. 17% are severely burdened, paying half their income or more in rent. That cohort has no absorption capacity for an unexpected bill, and it is where non-payment filings originate.
Running cool is supply constraint, at 2.3/10. Average gross rent is $893, 18% below the Des Moines average of $1,090. The poverty rate is 20%, which shows up in this model as reduced rent-recovery odds after a judgment.
CDC survey data puts housing insecurity at 22.9% of adults, against 14.2% nationally. Court records for this tract carry 312 eviction filings. Well under the midpoint is eviction-process difficulty, at 2.5/10.
SNAP participation is 26.3% of households versus 15.2% nationally. Filing activity peaked in 2008 at 23.7% of renter households. The most recent observed rate, 14.0% in 2015, is well off that peak.
That places it #1 of 44 neighborhoods in Des Moines. For a like-for-like read, Capitol East and Sherman Hill score within a fraction of it.
Social vulnerability runs high at 9.4/10, concentrating the disaster- and displacement-exposure this model treats as a lagging risk input.
One tract means one number: 4.8/10 applies directly to any address inside the boundary. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.
Risk score
4.8
Moderate
1 tracts · population-weighted
Martin Luther King Jr. Park vs Des MoinesHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority84%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport77%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Martin Luther King Jr. Park
Aggregated across 1 validated constituent tract. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
312Total filings (sum)
11.73%Avg annual filing rate
23.7%Peak year (2008)
13.96%Latest filed (2015)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Martin Luther King Jr. Park
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
22.9%Housing insecurity
14.4%Utility shutoff threat
31.1%Food insecurity
26.3%SNAP enrollment
17.8%No health insurance
36.8%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Martin Luther King Jr. Park
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Martin Luther King Jr. Park?
Martin Luther King Jr. Park scores 4.8/10 (Moderate 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 Martin Luther King Jr. Park compare to Des Moines overall?
Martin Luther King Jr. Park scores 1.4 points higher than Des Moines overall (3.4/10). Renters spend 46% of income on rent vs 30% citywide. Average rent: $893 vs $1,090.
Q3
What is the average rent in Martin Luther King Jr. Park?
Average gross rent in Martin Luther King Jr. Park is $893/month (pop-weighted across 1 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 46% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Martin Luther King Jr. Park residents are renters?
29% of Martin Luther King Jr. Park households are renter-occupied (vs 40% in Des Moines). The neighborhood has 2,486 residents.
Q5
Is Martin Luther King Jr. Park a high social-vulnerability area?
Martin Luther King Jr. Park sits in the 93rd 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 Martin Luther King Jr. Park for landlords?
Martin Luther King Jr. Park carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (4.8/10). 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 Des Moines as a whole (3.4/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q7
What is the demographic breakdown of Martin Luther King Jr. Park?
Martin Luther King Jr. Park has 2,544 residents. Top groups: Hispanic / Latino (49.8%), White (non-Hispanic) (20.5%), Black (non-Hispanic) (20.2%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
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