14 census tracts · pop 34,277 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 7.3/10
· range 6.7–9.5
Dorchester Heights takes in 14 census tracts of Boston, MA and houses 34,277 people. That produces an Eviction Risk Score of 7.3/10, Elevated tier. Internally this is not one market. Tract scores span 6.7 to 9.5, so two buildings inside the same boundary can carry materially different risk.
What pushes the score up most is tenant-organizing strength at 8.5/10. Rent consumes at least 30% of income for 30% of renter households. Running hot is rent-regulation exposure at 8/10.
Average gross rent is $2,605, 21% above the Boston average of $2,147. Sitting well above the midpoint is eviction-process difficulty at 8/10. Severe burden reaches 14%. A tenant at that level absorbs no shock: one cut shift or one repair bill converts directly into arrears.
Court records carry 694 eviction filings across its 9 observed tracts. The worst year on record was 2016, when filings touched 5.5% of renter households.
5.2% of adults carry no health insurance against 11.3% nationally, a common route into sudden unpayable debt. Among the 57 mapped neighborhoods of Boston, it ranks #40 by risk, the lower third. Judgments average 0.6% of renter households a year, the share of filings that actually convert to an order.
For a specific building, read the per-tract breakdown below rather than the 7.3 headline, because the internal range is too wide to average safely. Scores move when the ACS release, the court-record feed, or the statute ledger behind them moves.
Risk score
7.3
Elevated
14 tracts · population-weighted
Dorchester Heights vs BostonHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority31%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport60%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Dorchester Heights
Aggregated across 9 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
694Total filings (sum)
1.33%Avg annual filing rate
5.5%Peak year (2016)
1.13%Latest filed (2016)
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
208Total filings 2020-21
0.4Avg monthly observed
1.1Pre-pandemic baseline
0.38×Ratio to baseline
Pandemic filings ran far below baseline. Tracked under Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Boston, MA).
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Dorchester Heights
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
11.1%Housing insecurity
7.4%Utility shutoff threat
12.0%Food insecurity
13.7%SNAP enrollment
4.6%No health insurance
20.5%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Dorchester Heights
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Dorchester Heights?
Dorchester Heights scores 7.3/10 (Elevated tier) across 14 census tracts. The pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income and poverty signals.
Q2
How does Dorchester Heights compare to Boston overall?
Dorchester Heights scores 0.8 points lower than Boston overall (8.1/10). Renters spend 30% of income on rent vs 31% citywide. Average rent: $2,605 vs $2,147.
Q3
What is the average rent in Dorchester Heights?
Average gross rent in Dorchester Heights is $2,605/month (pop-weighted across 14 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 30% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Dorchester Heights residents are renters?
58% of Dorchester Heights households are renter-occupied (vs 64% in Boston). The neighborhood has 34,277 residents.
Q5
Is Dorchester Heights a high social-vulnerability area?
Dorchester Heights sits in the 21st percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (low vulnerability). The index combines poverty, unemployment, household composition, racial/ethnic minority share, and housing/transportation factors across all US census tracts.
Q6
Which tracts in Dorchester Heights have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Dorchester Heights is census tract 25025061101 (score 9.5/10). Across the 14 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 6.7 to 9.5, a spread of 2.8 points.
Q7
How safe is Dorchester Heights for landlords?
Dorchester Heights carries a elevated-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (7.3/10). Pop-weighted across 14 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Boston as a whole (8.1/10), this neighborhood is lower-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Dorchester Heights?
Dorchester Heights has 34,520 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (77.5%), Hispanic / Latino (10.3%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (6.2%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
