2 census tracts · pop 4,177 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 9.6/10
· range 9.3–9.9
Brickbottom takes in 2 census tracts of Cambridge, MA and houses 4,177 people. The Eviction Risk Score is 9.6/10, in the High tier. Against a Cambridge baseline of 27.9%, 55% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line.
28% 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. At $1,911 a month, rents sit 31% under what the rest of Cambridge commands.
74% of occupied units are rented, so comparables are plentiful and vacancy risk is low, but a mispriced renewal loses the tenant to a building two streets over. Pulling the other way is supply constraint, at 1.8/10. On the high side is eviction-process difficulty at 8.2/10.
Sitting well above the midpoint is tenant-organizing strength at 8.2/10. The poverty rate is 20%, which shows up in this model as reduced rent-recovery odds after a judgment. Filings are well documented here: 116 across 2 observed tracts.
Filing activity peaked in 2014 at 2.4% of renter households. The most recent observed rate, 1.2% in 2016, is well off that peak.
Among the 13 mapped neighborhoods of Cambridge, it ranks #1 by risk, the upper third. The closest comparables inside the same city are Harvard Yard and Old Cambridge.
With little internal variation, 9.6/10 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
9.6
High
2 tracts · population-weighted
Brickbottom vs CambridgeHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority62%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport62%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Brickbottom
Aggregated across 2 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
116Total filings (sum)
1.43%Avg annual filing rate
2.4%Peak year (2014)
1.20%Latest filed (2016)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Brickbottom
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
13.1%Housing insecurity
8.3%Utility shutoff threat
15.6%Food insecurity
18.7%SNAP enrollment
6.1%No health insurance
28.5%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Brickbottom
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Brickbottom?
Brickbottom scores 9.6/10 (High 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 Brickbottom compare to Cambridge overall?
Brickbottom scores 0.7 points higher than Cambridge overall (8.9/10). Renters spend 55% of income on rent vs 28% citywide. Average rent: $1,911 vs $2,787.
Q3
What is the average rent in Brickbottom?
Average gross rent in Brickbottom is $1,911/month (pop-weighted across 2 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 55% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Brickbottom residents are renters?
74% of Brickbottom households are renter-occupied (vs 67% in Cambridge). The neighborhood has 4,177 residents.
Q5
Is Brickbottom a high social-vulnerability area?
Brickbottom sits in the 56th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (moderately 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 Brickbottom have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Brickbottom is census tract 25017352200 (score 9.9/10). Across the 2 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 9.3 to 9.9, a spread of 0.6 points.
Q7
How safe is Brickbottom for landlords?
Brickbottom carries a high-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (9.6/10). 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 Cambridge as a whole (8.9/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Brickbottom?
Brickbottom has 4,411 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (48.9%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (17.3%), Hispanic / Latino (13.6%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
