2 census tracts · pop 4,669 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 4.4/10
· range 3.8–4.8
Somerset spans 2 census tracts of Des Moines, IA and houses 4,669 people. That produces an Eviction Risk Score of 4.4/10, Moderate tier. At $635 a month, rents sit 42% under what the rest of Des Moines commands.
The main counterweight is rent-regulation exposure, at 1/10. Severe burden reaches 18%. A tenant at that level absorbs no shock: one cut shift or one repair bill converts directly into arrears. Well under the midpoint is eviction-process difficulty, at 2.5/10.
Internally this is not one market. Tract scores span 3.8 to 4.8, so two buildings inside the same boundary can carry materially different risk. The filing record is not thin: 1,562 evictions logged in this tract. Running cool is housing-court posture, at 2.5/10.
Against a Des Moines baseline of 29.6%, 34% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line. The worst year on record was 2012, when filings touched 29.8% of renter households.
Recent filings have not receded much: 21.5% in 2015 against a 29.8% peak. Among the 44 mapped neighborhoods of Des Moines, it ranks #27 by risk, the middle third.
For a like-for-like read, Drake and Watrous South score within a fraction of it. Rent takes 14% of average household income, comfortably inside the 30% line and unusually low for a rental sub-market.
46% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
Underwrite the address, not the area: with 1 points between its best and worst tract, the per-tract table below is the operative number. Scores move when the ACS release, the court-record feed, or the statute ledger behind them moves.
Risk score
4.4
Moderate
2 tracts · population-weighted
Somerset vs Des MoinesHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority59%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport99%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Somerset
Aggregated across 1 validated constituent tract. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
1,562Total filings (sum)
27.30%Avg annual filing rate
29.8%Peak year (2012)
21.49%Latest filed (2015)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Somerset
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
21.5%Housing insecurity
15.5%Utility shutoff threat
29.8%Food insecurity
29.5%SNAP enrollment
14.2%No health insurance
37.3%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Somerset
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Somerset?
Somerset scores 4.4/10 (Moderate tier) across 2 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 Somerset compare to Des Moines overall?
Somerset scores 1.0 points higher than Des Moines overall (3.4/10). Renters spend 34% of income on rent vs 30% citywide. Average rent: $635 vs $1,090.
Q3
What is the average rent in Somerset?
Average gross rent in Somerset is $635/month (pop-weighted across 2 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 34% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Somerset residents are renters?
46% of Somerset households are renter-occupied (vs 40% in Des Moines). The neighborhood has 4,669 residents.
Q5
Is Somerset a high social-vulnerability area?
Somerset sits in the 95th 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
Which tracts in Somerset have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Somerset is census tract 19153004702 (score 4.8/10). Across the 2 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 3.8 to 4.8, a spread of 1 points.
Q7
How safe is Somerset for landlords?
Somerset carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (4.4/10). Pop-weighted across 2 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.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Somerset?
Somerset has 4,977 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (66.4%), Hispanic / Latino (15.7%), Black (non-Hispanic) (9.6%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
