Within neighborhood
40
th percentile
Moderate
Neighborhood · Ranked #32,735 of 84,120 nationally
Central Square Eviction Risk: Moderate , Cambridge
Tract 25017368902 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 3,582 · neighborhood within 0.3 mi
Eviction risk in Central Square in Cambridge centers on tract 25017368902, which scores 5.8/10 (Moderate tier) and is home to 3,582 residents. It lands near the 68th percentile nationally for landlord eviction risk.
Rent eats 30% or more of income for 67% of renter households, a severe level, and 51% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $2,474 a month while the average household earns $57,450 a year, roughly 52% of income at the averages. About 84% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
4.5
Moderate
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 56%
Stable renters 28%
Owners 16%
Tract context
Occupied units1,461
Renter share84.3%
SVI overall0.77
Poverty rate18.0%
Median income$57,450
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
92
th percentile
Very High
Within county
85
th percentile
High
Within state
71
th percentile
Elevated
Geographic context
Risk heat across Cambridge and the region
Centroid at 42.3802, -71.2313 · click any tract to drill in
Why Central Square scores 4.5
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Cambridge
7.5
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
18.0% poverty · this tract
4.5
Supply constraint
$2,474 rent vs county FMR
3.7
Rent control risk
Inherited from Cambridge
5.1
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
5.7
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Cambridge
9.2
Housing court bias
Inherited from Cambridge
4.9
How Central Square compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 77
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 67%Socioeconomic
- 44%Household composition
- 72%Racial/ethnic minority
- 90%Housing & transportation
Historical context · 1930s redlining
HOLC grade: B: Still Desirable
This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade B meant middle-class areas with mortgage access. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.
- 0%Grade A
- 22%Grade B
- 15%Grade C
- 5%Grade D · redlined
Source: Mapping Inequality (americanpanorama.org), 1935-1940 HOLC residential security maps, aggregated to 2020 census tracts by area share. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Eviction filings
Court-record eviction history
Court-validated eviction filings collected from county clerks and consolidated by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households.1
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
- 167Total filings over 4 yrs
- 3.50%Avg annual filing rate
- 4.0%Peak (2013)
- 37Filings in 2016 (latest validated)
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
- 0Total filings 2020-21
- 0.0Avg monthly (observed)
- 0.0Pre-pandemic baseline
- 0.00×Ratio to baseline
Pandemic filings ran far below baseline (moratorium effect). Eviction Lab tracked Boston, MA as part of its 34-metro Eviction Tracking System.
Comparable tracts
Census tracts with similar eviction risk
Within Central Square. Closest by Eviction Risk Score.
CDC PLACES 2023 · health & economic stress
Eviction-adjacent indicators
Crude prevalence of conditions linked to housing loss. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh), 2023 model-based small-area estimates.
- 17.2%Housing insecurity
- 10.4%Utility-shutoff threat
- 19.5%Food insecurity
- 22.3%SNAP enrollment
- 11.7%Transit barriers
- 8.1%No health insurance
- 17.7%Frequent mental distress
- 29.2%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Central Square
The heaviest input here is tenant organizing strength at 9.2/10. That part comes from the wider legal climate rather than the tract itself. Statewide and court-level factors such as eviction-process speed and rent-control exposure are inherited from Cambridge eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.
Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Middlesex County average of 5.2 and in line with the Massachusetts statewide average of 5.9. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.
Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 167 eviction filings here over 4 tracked years, with about 3.5% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 4.0% of renter households in 2013.
Part of this tract, about 5% of its area, sat in the redlined grade-D zone on 1930s HOLC maps, though its dominant grade was B ("Still Desirable"). That lending history still correlates with present-day rent burden.
For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.
Frequently asked
About tract 25017368902
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017368902?
Census tract 25017368902 in the Central Square neighborhood scores 4.5/10 (Moderate tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.
Q2
What is the average rent in tract 25017368902?
Median gross rent is $2,474/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 67% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017368902?
18.0% of residents in tract 25017368902 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,582.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017368902?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 77th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 67th, household 44th, minority 72th, housing 90th.
Q5
Is tract 25017368902 considered part of Central Square?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017368902 fall within Central Square (neighborhood centroid within 0.3 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017368902?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 167 eviction filings across 4 validated years in tract 25017368902 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 3.50% of renter households, peaking at 4.0% in 2013. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
What share of households in tract 25017368902 struggle to pay rent?
About 17.2% of adults in this tract reported housing insecurity (could not pay rent or mortgage in the past 12 months), per the CDC PLACES 2023 model-based small-area estimate. 10.4% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 25017368902 compare to Cambridge overall?
Tract 25017368902 scores 4.5/10, lower than the parent city of Cambridge at 7.1/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Cambridge eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q9
Was tract 25017368902 historically redlined?
Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of B. 5% of the tract's area was rated D ("Hazardous"), the redlined tier. HOLC redlining systematically denied mortgage credit to Black, immigrant, and working-class neighborhoods and remains a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings, rent burden, and homeownership gaps. Source: Mapping Inequality (americanpanorama.org), Robert K. Nelson et al.
Sibling tracts
Highest-risk tracts in Cambridge
Top eight tracts in Cambridge ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
Tract · MA
Pigeon Hill
5.9
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
The Bleachery
3.7
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
South Side
3.4
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Banks Square
3.3
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
The Island
2.8
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
The Bleachery
2.5
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Lakeview
2.3
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Prospectville
2.3
/ 10 · Low
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