Neighborhood · West Des Moines, IA

Commerce Eviction Risk: Lower

3 census tracts · pop 17,749 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 3.3/10 · range 3.1–3.7

Commerce spans 3 census tracts of West Des Moines, IA, population 17,749. That produces an Eviction Risk Score of 3.3/10, Lower tier. Cost burden runs 41% against 26.4% citywide, putting Commerce 14.7% over its own city.

The clearest offset is economic stress, at 1.4/10. Running hot is tenant-organizing strength at 8.5/10.

Well under the midpoint is eviction-process difficulty, at 2/10. Severe burden reaches 13%. A tenant at that level absorbs no shock: one cut shift or one repair bill converts directly into arrears. Filings are well documented here: 1,071 across 3 observed tracts.

SNAP participation is 6.0% of households versus 15.2% nationally. Filing activity peaked in 2013 at 11.6% of renter households.

5.1% of adults carry no health insurance against 11.3% nationally, a common route into sudden unpayable debt. The most recent observed rate, 2.8% in 2015, is well off that peak.

Against average income of $92,663, annual rent is only 15%, a wide affordability cushion. Poverty sits at 6%, low enough that arrears here usually reflect a specific shock rather than a structural income gap.

With little internal variation, 3.3/10 is a fair proxy for any address inside the boundary. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.

Risk score

3.3

Lower

3 tracts · population-weighted

Commerce vs West Des Moines How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average

% of income on rent

41.1% +56%

West Des Moines: 26.4%

Average gross rent

$1,173 -5%

West Des Moines: $1,237

Average HH income

$92,663 +9%

West Des Moines: $84,925

Poverty rate

5.5% -24%

West Des Moines: 7.3%

Renter share

32.5% -24%

West Des Moines: 42.6%

Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Commerce and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 3 tracts span score 3.1–3.7

Why Commerce scores 3.3

9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly

State political climate

legislature & governorship · Range 2.3–2.3 across tracts

2.3

Regional political climate

County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 5.8–5.8 across tracts

5.8

Local political climate

Parent city governance · Range 6.2–6.2 across tracts

6.2

Rent control risk

41% of income on rent · Range 4.3–4.3 across tracts

4.3

Eviction process difficulty

State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 2.0–2.0 across tracts

2.0

Tenant organizing strength

33% renter households · Range 8.5–8.5 across tracts

8.5

Housing court bias

County bench composition · Range 4.2–4.2 across tracts

4.2

Economic stress

5.5% below poverty line · Range 1.0–1.6 across tracts

1.4

Supply constraint

Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 3.5–5.8 across tracts

4.6

Risk score comparison

Commerce vs. parent city, state, U.S.

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Variance across tracts

How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Commerce?

Left: distribution of constituent tract scores. Right: every tract as a heat square. Click any square to drill in.

Score distribution

0246810

Spread of 0.6 points from 3.1 to 3.7. Tracts are relatively uniform, so conditions feel similar throughout the neighborhood.

Tracts as heat grid

3.7 3.2 3.1

Each square = one census tract. Color tracks the same green→red ramp as the chloropleth map above.

Census tracts

3 tracts in Commerce

Ranked highest-risk first. Click for per-tract detail.

Tract↕	Score↕	Pop↕	% over 30% on rent↕	Average rent↕
19153011028	3.7	5,163	40%	$1,031
19153011027	3.2	6,787	47%	$1,157
19153011026	3.1	5,799	36%	$1,317

Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 24

Pop-weighted across 3 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 19%ile

Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden

Household characteristics 37%ile

Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+

Racial/ethnic minority 28%ile

Hispanic + non-white share of population

Housing & transport 36%ile

Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle

Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab

Court-record eviction history in Commerce

Aggregated across 3 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

1,071Total filings (sum)
5.22%Avg annual filing rate
11.6%Peak year (2013)
2.78%Latest filed (2015)

CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted

Eviction-adjacent indicators in Commerce

Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.

7.3%Housing insecurity
4.8%Utility shutoff threat
8.1%Food insecurity
6.1%SNAP enrollment
5.1%No health insurance
22.1%Any disability

Frequently asked

About Commerce

What is the eviction-risk score for Commerce?

Commerce scores 3.3/10 (Lower tier) across 3 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.

How does Commerce compare to West Des Moines overall?

Commerce scores 0.7 points lower than West Des Moines overall (4/10). Renters spend 41% of income on rent vs 26% citywide. Average rent: $1,173 vs $1,237.

What is the average rent in Commerce?

Average gross rent in Commerce is $1,173/month (pop-weighted across 3 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 41% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What percentage of Commerce residents are renters?

33% of Commerce households are renter-occupied (vs 43% in West Des Moines). The neighborhood has 17,749 residents.

Is Commerce a high social-vulnerability area?

Commerce sits in the 24th 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.

Which tracts in Commerce have the highest eviction risk?

The highest-risk constituent tract in Commerce is census tract 19153011028 (score 3.7/10). Across the 3 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 3.1 to 3.7, a spread of 0.6 points.

How safe is Commerce for landlords?

Commerce carries a lower-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (3.3/10). Pop-weighted across 3 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to West Des Moines as a whole (4/10), this neighborhood is lower-risk.

What is the demographic breakdown of Commerce?

Commerce has 17,875 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (77%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (7.4%), Hispanic / Latino (6.4%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.

Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Commerce

5.3 Frisbie Park 2 tracts · pop 9,369 3.2 Southwestern Hills 2 tracts · pop 3,019 3.6 Merle Hay 5 tracts · pop 20,903 3.4 Waveland Park 2 tracts · pop 6,019 4.4 Watrous South 3 tracts · pop 10,727 4.5 Drake 2 tracts · pop 8,362

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside West Des Moines

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Commerce.

5.3 Frisbie Park 2 tracts · pop 9,369

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