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Neighborhood · Ranked #15,522 of 84,120 nationally

Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District Eviction Risk: Moderate , Lowell

Tract 25017312400 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 2,186 · neighborhood within 0.6 mi

Census tract 25017312400 covers the Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District neighborhood of Lowell, home to 2,186 residents. For landlords it grades 5.6/10, a moderate reading. That is riskier than about 61% of US census tracts.

54% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a severe level, and 19% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $1,389 a month while the average household earns $36,667 a year, roughly 45% of income at the averages. Renters make up 86% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score
5.7
Moderate
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 46% Stable renters 39% Owners 15%
Tract context
Occupied units980
Renter share85.9%
SVI overall0.99
Poverty rate19.0%
Median income$36,667

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within neighborhood
100 th percentile
Rank, 100th percentileLowHigh
#1 of 4 tracts In Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District
Very High
Within parent city
72 th percentile
Rank, 72nd percentileLowHigh
#8 of 26 tracts In Lowell
Elevated
Within county
95 th percentile
Rank, 95th percentileLowHigh
#18 of 357 tracts In Middlesex County
Very High
Within state
87 th percentile
Rank, 87th percentileLowHigh
#219 of 1,613 tracts In Massachusetts
High
Geographic context

Risk heat across Lowell and the region

Centroid at 42.6413, -71.3012 · click any tract to drill in

Why Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District scores 5.7

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly
Local political climate
Inherited from Lowell
6.5
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
19.0% poverty · this tract
4.8
Supply constraint
$1,389 rent vs county FMR
1.0
Rent control risk
Inherited from Lowell
5.0
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
6.5
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Lowell
6.0
Housing court bias
Inherited from Lowell
6.5

How Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District risk score vs. parent city / county / stateThis tract: 5.75.7This tracttract 312400Lowell: 6.16.1Lowellparent cityCounty: 2.72.7Countyavg tract in countyState: 3.53.5Stateavg tract in state
CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 99

CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.

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)

  • 210Total filings over 5 yrs
  • 5.78%Avg annual filing rate
  • 7.2%Peak (2014)
  • 43Filings in 2016 (latest validated)
Filings by year 2012 to 2016
Year-by-year eviction filings in tract 250173124002012: 29 filings (4.02/100 renter HHs)2013: 42 filings (5.83/100 renter HHs)2014: 52 filings (7.21/100 renter HHs)2015: 44 filings (6.10/100 renter HHs)2016: 43 filings (5.74/100 renter HHs)
Filings climbed 48% over the past 5 months.

Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)

  • 0Total filings 2020-21
  • 0.0Avg monthly (observed)
  • 0.0Pre-pandemic baseline
  • 0.00×Ratio to baseline
Monthly filings 2020–2021 2020-01-01 to 2023-11-01
Monthly eviction filings vs pre-pandemic baseline2020-01-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-02-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-03-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-04-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-05-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-06-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-07-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-08-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-09-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-10-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-11-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2020-12-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-01-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-02-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-03-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-04-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-05-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-06-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-07-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-08-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-09-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-10-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-11-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2021-12-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-01-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-02-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-03-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-04-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-05-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-06-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-07-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-08-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-09-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-10-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-11-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2022-12-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-01-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-02-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-03-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-04-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-05-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-06-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-07-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-08-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-09-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-10-01: 0 filings (0.00× baseline)2023-11-01: 0 filings (0.00× 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 Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District. 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.

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District

The heaviest input here is eviction process difficulty at 6.5/10. 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 Lowell 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 below the Massachusetts statewide average of 5.9. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

In CDC survey modeling, about 24.1% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 14.8% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

The tract is White and Hispanic or Latino and ranks around the 99th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. High vulnerability tends to track with higher eviction-filing rates when rents climb.

For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.

Frequently asked

About tract 25017312400

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017312400?

Census tract 25017312400 in the Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District neighborhood scores 5.7/10 (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 25017312400?

Median gross rent is $1,389/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 54% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3

What is the poverty rate in tract 25017312400?

19.0% of residents in tract 25017312400 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,186.
Q4

How socially vulnerable is tract 25017312400?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 99th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 92th, household 100th, minority 55th, housing 95th.
Q5

Is tract 25017312400 considered part of Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017312400 fall within Merrimack-Middle Street Historic District (neighborhood centroid within 0.6 miles, OSM data).
Q6

How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017312400?

Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 210 eviction filings across 5 validated years in tract 25017312400 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 5.78% of renter households, peaking at 7.2% in 2014. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7

What share of households in tract 25017312400 struggle to pay rent?

About 24.1% 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. 14.8% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8

How does tract 25017312400 compare to Lowell overall?

Tract 25017312400 scores 5.7/10, lower than the parent city of Lowell at 6.1/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Lowell eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Sibling tracts

Highest-risk tracts in Lowell

Top eight tracts in Lowell ranked by composite eviction-risk score.

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