Neighborhood · Ranked #25,671 of 84,120 nationally

Buttonwood Village Eviction Risk: Moderate , Brookline

Tract 25021401202 · Norfolk County, MA · pop 1,738 · neighborhood within 0.6 mi

Buttonwood Village in Brookline anchors census tract 25021401202, which lands at 6.1/10 on landlord eviction risk. On the national scale it ranks #18,748 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty.

Rent eats 30% or more of income for 73% of renter households, a severe level, and 65% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $2,879 a month while the average household earns $122,031 a year, roughly 28% of income at the averages. About 40% of occupied units are renter-occupied.

Risk score

5.9

Moderate

Confidence 100% · 1-10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 29% Stable renters 11% Owners 60%

Tract context

Occupied units613

Renter share39.6%

SVI overall0.62

Poverty rate3.0%

Median income$122,031

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Brookline and the region

Centroid at 42.3143, -71.1528 · click any tract to drill in

Why Buttonwood Village scores 5.9

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Brookline

8.3

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

6.8

State political climate

Massachusetts legislature & governorship

6.2

Economic stress

3.0% poverty · this tract

1.0

Supply constraint

$2,879 rent vs county FMR

5.1

Rent control risk

Inherited from Brookline

5.9

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

6.1

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Brookline

9.4

Housing court bias

Inherited from Brookline

5.5

How Buttonwood Village compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 62

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

28%Socioeconomic
62%Household composition
60%Racial/ethnic minority
92%Housing & transportation

Historical context · 1930s redlining

HOLC grade: A: Best

This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade A meant wealthy, predominantly white neighborhoods favored for lending. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.

51%Grade A
0%Grade B
2%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 · Princeton Eviction Lab

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.

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

Pandemic filings ran far below baseline (moratorium effect). Eviction Lab tracked Boston, MA as part of its 34-metro Eviction Tracking System.

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.

6.1%Housing insecurity
4.0%Utility-shutoff threat
6.8%Food insecurity
7.0%SNAP enrollment
4.9%Transit barriers
3.0%No health insurance
12.8%Frequent mental distress
24.4%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Buttonwood Village

The score leans hardest on tenant organizing strength at 9.4/10. 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 Brookline eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Norfolk County average of 5.6 and in line with the Massachusetts statewide average of 5.9. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

HOLC surveyors mapped this tract in the 1930s with a dominant grade of A ("Best"), above the redlined D tier. The grading still shaped decades of lending and development in the surrounding area.

The tract is predominantly White and ranks around the 62nd percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. That is a middle-of-the-pack reading for social vulnerability.

For a landlord, this is a tract where process discipline pays off. Clean paperwork and steady screening keep the elevated risk manageable.

Frequently asked

About tract 25021401202

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25021401202?

Census tract 25021401202 in the Buttonwood Village neighborhood scores 5.9/10 (Moderate tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.

What is the average rent in tract 25021401202?

Median gross rent is $2,879/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 73% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 25021401202?

3.0% of residents in tract 25021401202 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 1,738.

How socially vulnerable is tract 25021401202?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 62th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 28th, household 62th, minority 60th, housing 92th.

Is tract 25021401202 considered part of Buttonwood Village?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25021401202 fall within Buttonwood Village (neighborhood centroid within 0.6 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 25021401202 struggle to pay rent?

About 6.1% 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. 4.0% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 25021401202 compare to Brookline overall?

Tract 25021401202 scores 5.9/10, higher than the parent city of Brookline at 5.6/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Brookline eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 25021401202 historically redlined?

Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of A. 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 Brookline

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