3 census tracts · pop 9,679 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 4.3/10
· range 3.6–4.9
Somerset takes in 3 census tracts of Ames, IA, population 9,679. The Eviction Risk Score is 4.3/10, in the Moderate tier. Against a Ames baseline of 30.1%, 58% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line.
35% 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. The strongest single driver of the headline number is tenant-organizing strength at 9.5/10.
Sitting well above the midpoint is housing-court posture at 8/10. The 3 tracts inside this boundary do not behave alike. Individual scores run 3.6 to 4.9, a 1.3-point gap wide enough that the area average misleads on any specific address.
On the softer side is eviction-process difficulty, at 2.4/10. CDC survey data puts housing insecurity at 6.0% of adults, against 14.2% nationally.
Court records for this tract carry 52 eviction filings. At $1,175 a month, rents sit 15% over what the rest of Ames commands.
Food insecurity affects 7.4% of adults, 10.4 points below the national rate. The worst year on record was 2005, when filings touched 2.5% of renter households.
The voucher gap is 11.2%: households holding assistance that local rents will not absorb, which shows up as churn rather than arrears.
Underwrite the address, not the area: with 1.3 points between its best and worst tract, the per-tract table below is the operative number. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.
Risk score
4.3
Moderate
3 tracts · population-weighted
Somerset vs AmesHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority46%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport31%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)
52Total filings (sum)
1.04%Avg annual filing rate
2.5%Peak year (2005)
0.81%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.
5.9%Housing insecurity
4.1%Utility shutoff threat
7.2%Food insecurity
5.2%SNAP enrollment
4.5%No health insurance
22.8%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Somerset
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Somerset?
Somerset scores 4.3/10 (Moderate 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.
Q2
How does Somerset compare to Ames overall?
Somerset scores 0.7 points lower than Ames overall (5/10). Renters spend 58% of income on rent vs 30% citywide. Average rent: $1,175 vs $1,023.
Q3
What is the average rent in Somerset?
Average gross rent in Somerset is $1,175/month (pop-weighted across 3 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 58% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Somerset residents are renters?
29% of Somerset households are renter-occupied (vs 58% in Ames). The neighborhood has 9,679 residents.
Q5
Is Somerset a high social-vulnerability area?
Somerset sits in the 29th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (less 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 19169000300 (score 4.9/10). Across the 3 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 3.6 to 4.9, a spread of 1.3 points.
Q7
How safe is Somerset for landlords?
Somerset carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (4.3/10). 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 Ames as a whole (5/10), this neighborhood is lower-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Somerset?
Somerset has 9,822 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (72.1%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (14.2%), Hispanic / Latino (6.7%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
