Within neighborhood
100
th percentile
Very High
Neighborhood · Ranked #1 of 84,120 nationally
West Somerville Eviction Risk: High , Cambridge
Tract 25017354902 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 5,390 · neighborhood within 0.7 mi
25017354902 is a census tract in the West Somerville area of Cambridge, MA. It scores 9.9/10 for landlords. It is home to 5,390 residents. Against the Middlesex County average of 6.3, this tract reads riskier for landlords by 3.6 points.
Risk score
9.9
High
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 24%
Stable renters 33%
Owners 43%
Tract context
Occupied units2,360
Renter share57.5%
SVI overall0.64
Poverty rate17.0%
Median income$90,046
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
72
th percentile
Elevated
Within county
100
th percentile
Very High
Within state
100
th percentile
Very High
Geographic context
Risk heat across Cambridge and the region
Centroid at 42.3947, -71.1357 · click any tract to drill in
Why West Somerville scores 9.9
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Cambridge
9.0
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
17.0% poverty · this tract
4.3
Supply constraint
$1,776 rent vs county FMR
1.3
Rent control risk
Inherited from Cambridge
8.5
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
8.5
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Cambridge
8.5
Housing court bias
Inherited from Cambridge
8.0
How West Somerville compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 64
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 45%Socioeconomic
- 67%Household composition
- 70%Racial/ethnic minority
- 72%Housing & transportation
Historical context · 1930s redlining
HOLC grade: C: Definitely Declining
This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade C meant mixed-race / working-class neighborhoods rated as risky. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.
- 0%Grade A
- 0%Grade B
- 43%Grade C
- 0%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
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
- 0Total filings 2020-21
- 0.0Avg monthly (observed)
- 3.9Pre-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 West Somerville. 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.
- 14.0%Housing insecurity
- 8.8%Utility-shutoff threat
- 16.1%Food insecurity
- 18.7%SNAP enrollment
- 9.7%Transit barriers
- 5.2%No health insurance
- 15.8%Frequent mental distress
- 26.5%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in West Somerville
The score leans hardest on local political climate at 9/10. At $1,776 a month, rents run 36% under what the rest of Cambridge commands.
On the softer side, supply constraint reads 1.3/10. On the high side, rent-regulation exposure reads 8.5/10.
Severe burden reaches 12%. Those are renters paying half their income or more, and that is where non-payment filings originate. In the 1930s the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation graded this ground C ("Definitely Declining"). Redlining cut off mortgage credit to whole blocks for decades, and the areas graded D still carry measurably lower ownership and higher rent burden today. Nationally it ranks #1 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty.
Social vulnerability reads 6.8/10 on the CDC index, a measure of exposure to housing and economic shocks. Statewide the MA average is 6.2, so this tract runs 3.7 points hotter. Rent takes 30% or more of income for 43% of renters.
Annual rent works out to 24% of average household income of $90,046. 58% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
All figures here are ACS 5-year estimates for this tract, refreshed as the underlying releases land.
Frequently asked
About tract 25017354902
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017354902?
Census tract 25017354902 in the West Somerville neighborhood scores 9.9/10 (High 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 25017354902?
Median gross rent is $1,776/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 43% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017354902?
17.0% of residents in tract 25017354902 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 5,390.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017354902?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 64th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 45th, household 67th, minority 70th, housing 72th.
Q5
Is tract 25017354902 considered part of West Somerville?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017354902 fall within West Somerville (neighborhood centroid within 0.7 miles, OSM data).
Q6
Did eviction filings in tract 25017354902 drop during COVID?
Pandemic-era filings ran 0.00× the pre-COVID monthly baseline. Filings dropped sharply, likely a moratorium effect. Tracked by the Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Boston eviction risk, MA), 2020-2021.
Q7
What share of households in tract 25017354902 struggle to pay rent?
About 14.0% 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. 8.8% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 25017354902 compare to Cambridge overall?
Tract 25017354902 scores 9.9/10, higher than the parent city of Cambridge at 8.9/10. 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 25017354902 historically redlined?
Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of C. 0% 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
Harvard Yard
9.9
/ 10 · Very High
Tract · MA
Harvard Yard
9.9
/ 10 · Very High
Tract · MA
Brickbottom
9.9
/ 10 · Very High
Tract · MA
Old Cambridge
9.9
/ 10 · Very High
Tract · MA
Harlow Square
9.9
/ 10 · Very High
Tract · MA
Inman Square
9.9
/ 10 · Very High
Tract · MA
Huron Village
9.9
/ 10 · Very High
Tract · MA
Central Square
9.9
/ 10 · Very High
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