Within neighborhood
50
th percentile
Moderate
Neighborhood · Ranked #29,336 of 84,120 nationally
Oak Square Eviction Risk: Moderate , Newton
Tract 25017373100 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 5,153 · neighborhood within 0.9 mi
25017373100 is a census tract in the Oak Square area of Newton, MA. It scores 5.2/10 for landlords. It is home to 5,153 residents. The main counterweight is economic stress at 1.4/10.
Risk score
5.2
Moderate
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 18%
Stable renters 29%
Owners 53%
Tract context
Occupied units1,939
Renter share46.7%
SVI overall0.22
Poverty rate5.6%
Median income$159,441
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
72
th percentile
Elevated
Within county
32
th percentile
Low
Within state
37
th percentile
Low
Geographic context
Risk heat across Newton and the region
Centroid at 42.3557, -71.1844 · click any tract to drill in
Why Oak Square scores 5.2
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Newton
7.1
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
5.6% poverty · this tract
1.4
Supply constraint
$2,509 rent vs county FMR
3.8
Rent control risk
Inherited from Newton
4.8
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
5.9
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Newton
6.3
Housing court bias
Inherited from Newton
3.9
How Oak Square compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 22
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 17%Socioeconomic
- 18%Household composition
- 50%Racial/ethnic minority
- 40%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
- 34%Grade B
- 56%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
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
- 30Total filings over 5 yrs
- 0.66%Avg annual filing rate
- 1.1%Peak (2012)
- 1Filings in 2016 (latest validated)
Filings dropped 90% over the past 5 months.
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
- 0Total filings 2020-21
- 0.0Avg monthly (observed)
- 0.6Pre-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 Oak 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.
- 6.9%Housing insecurity
- 4.1%Utility-shutoff threat
- 6.8%Food insecurity
- 6.9%SNAP enrollment
- 5.1%Transit barriers
- 3.1%No health insurance
- 13.6%Frequent mental distress
- 20.7%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Oak Square
Running cool, court filing pressure reads 2.5/10. Severe burden reaches 13%. Those are renters paying half their income or more, and that is where non-payment filings originate. It sits 1.1 points below the Middlesex County average of 6.3.
On the high side, regional political climate reads 7.3/10. Court records carry 30 eviction filings across 5 observed years. SNAP participation runs 6.9% against 15.2% nationally.
Against Middlesex County at 43.0%, 39% of renters here are cost-burdened. Inability to pay a utility bill runs 4.1% against 9.2% nationally. Utility arrears usually lead rent arrears by a month or two.
The worst year on record was 2012, when 1.1% of renter households were served. This ground was mapped C ("Definitely Declining") on the 1930s HOLC security maps for Newton. That grading determined who could get a mortgage, and its imprint on tenure and rent burden is still visible in the ACS data above.
In a typical year about 0.7% of renter households face a filing. Nationally it ranks #29,336 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty.
Social vulnerability reads 3/10 on the CDC index, a measure of exposure to housing and economic shocks.
All figures here are ACS 5-year estimates for this tract, refreshed as the underlying releases land.
Frequently asked
About tract 25017373100
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017373100?
Census tract 25017373100 in the Oak Square neighborhood scores 5.2/10 (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 25017373100?
Median gross rent is $2,509/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 39% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017373100?
5.6% of residents in tract 25017373100 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 5,153.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017373100?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 22th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 17th, household 18th, minority 50th, housing 40th.
Q5
Is tract 25017373100 considered part of Oak Square?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017373100 fall within Oak Square (neighborhood centroid within 0.9 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017373100?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 30 eviction filings across 5 validated years in tract 25017373100 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 0.66% of renter households, peaking at 1.1% in 2012. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
Did eviction filings in tract 25017373100 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.
Q8
What share of households in tract 25017373100 struggle to pay rent?
About 6.9% 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. 4.1% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q9
How does tract 25017373100 compare to Newton overall?
Tract 25017373100 scores 5.2/10, lower than the parent city of Newton at 5.9/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Newton eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q10
Was tract 25017373100 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 Newton
Top eight tracts in Newton ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
Tract · MA
Newton Highlands
6.1
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Bemis
5.6
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
The Island
5.5
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Cleveland Circle
5.5
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Night Caps Corner
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · MA
Nonantum
5.2
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · MA
Thompsonville
5.2
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · MA
Lasell Village
5.1
/ 10 · Moderate
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