Within neighborhood
0
th percentile
Very Low
Neighborhood · Ranked #8,653 of 84,120 nationally
Central Square Eviction Risk: Elevated , Cambridge
Tract 25017368902 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 3,582 · neighborhood within 0.3 mi
25017368902 is a census tract in the Central Square area of Waltham, MA. It scores 7.9/10 for landlords. The severe-burden share is 51%, and it is the single best predictor in this model of a filing that actually reaches judgment.
Risk score
7.9
Elevated
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
100
th percentile
Very High
Within county
76
th percentile
High
Within state
80
th percentile
High
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 7.9
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
Against Middlesex County at 43.0%, 67% of renters here are cost-burdened. Set annual rent against average income of $57,450 and the ratio lands at 52%, above the conventional 30% ceiling.
The dominant input is tenant-organizing strength at 9.2/10. 84% of occupied units are rented, so comparables are plentiful and vacancy risk is low, but a mispriced renewal loses the tenant to a building nearby. Against the Middlesex County average of 6.3, this tract reads riskier for landlords by 1.6 points.
On the softer side, court filing pressure reads 2.5/10. Sitting well above the midpoint, local political climate reads 7.5/10. The filing record is not thin: 167 evictions over 4 years of observation.
SNAP participation runs 22.3% against 15.2% nationally. Average gross rent is $2,474, 9% above the Waltham average. Filings peaked in 2013 at 4.0% of renter households.
This ground was mapped B ("Still Desirable") on the 1930s HOLC security maps for Waltham. 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 3.5% of renter households face a filing.
That is riskier than roughly 90% of the 84,120 US census tracts in this model.
All figures here are ACS 5-year estimates for this tract, refreshed as the underlying releases land.
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 7.9/10 (Elevated 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 7.9/10, lower 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 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
7.9
/ 10 · High
Tract · MA
The Bleachery
7.9
/ 10 · High
Tract · MA
South Side
7.6
/ 10 · High
Tract · MA
Banks Square
7.4
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
The Island
6.6
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
The Bleachery
6.3
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Lakeview
6
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Prospectville
6
/ 10 · Elevated
Related