1 census tracts · pop 1,844 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 3/10
· range 3–3
Westwood is a one-tract neighborhood of Des Moines, IA, population 1,844. That produces an Eviction Risk Score of 3/10, Lower tier. The main counterweight is rent-regulation exposure, at 1/10.
Running cool is economic stress, at 1/10. Cost burden runs 23% against 29.6% citywide, putting Westwood 6.6% under its own city. CDC survey data puts housing insecurity at 5.3% of adults, against 14.2% nationally.
SNAP participation is 3.9% of households versus 15.2% nationally. Court records for this tract carry 22 eviction filings. Well under the midpoint is eviction-process difficulty, at 2.5/10.
Filing activity peaked in 2006 at 2.2% of renter households. The most recent observed rate, 0.5% in 2015, is well off that peak.
That places it #38 of 44 neighborhoods in Des Moines. For a like-for-like read, Beaverdale and Easter Lake Area score within a fraction of it.
Against average income of $97,431, annual rent is only 13%, a wide affordability cushion. Poverty sits at 3%, low enough that arrears here usually reflect a specific shock rather than a structural income gap. Average gross rent runs $1,089, close to the Des Moines average.
34% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
One tract means one number: 3/10 applies directly to any address inside the boundary. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.
Risk score
3
Lower
1 tracts · population-weighted
Westwood vs Des MoinesHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority24%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport9%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Westwood
Aggregated across 1 validated constituent tract. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
22Total filings (sum)
1.16%Avg annual filing rate
2.2%Peak year (2006)
0.52%Latest filed (2015)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Westwood
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
5.3%Housing insecurity
3.7%Utility shutoff threat
5.3%Food insecurity
3.9%SNAP enrollment
3.6%No health insurance
19.6%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Westwood
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Westwood?
Westwood scores 3/10 (Lower 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 Westwood compare to Des Moines overall?
Westwood scores 0.4 points lower than Des Moines overall (3.4/10). Renters spend 23% of income on rent vs 30% citywide. Average rent: $1,089 vs $1,090.
Q3
What is the average rent in Westwood?
Average gross rent in Westwood is $1,089/month (pop-weighted across 1 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 23% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Westwood residents are renters?
34% of Westwood households are renter-occupied (vs 40% in Des Moines). The neighborhood has 1,844 residents.
Q5
Is Westwood a high social-vulnerability area?
Westwood sits in the 7th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (low vulnerability). The index combines poverty, unemployment, household composition, racial/ethnic minority share, and housing/transportation factors across all US census tracts.
Q6
How safe is Westwood for landlords?
Westwood carries a lower-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (3/10). 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 lower-risk.
Q7
What is the demographic breakdown of Westwood?
Westwood has 1,818 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (82.2%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (9.1%), Other / Multiracial (4.7%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
