5 census tracts · pop 14,866 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 6.7/10
· range 6.7–8.1
Highland is a 5-tract neighborhood of Boston, MA and houses 14,866 people. It carries an Eviction Risk Score of 6.7/10, in the Elevated tier. Pulling the other way is economic stress, at 1/10.
Running hot is tenant-organizing strength at 8.5/10. Severe burden reaches 18%. A tenant at that level absorbs no shock: one cut shift or one repair bill converts directly into arrears.
Scores across the 5 constituent tracts range from 6.7 to 8.1. A 1.4-point internal spread means block-level underwriting beats area-level here. On the high side is rent-regulation exposure at 8/10. Court records carry 75 eviction filings across its 2 observed tracts.
Food insecurity affects 6.7% of adults, 11.1 points below the national rate. CDC survey data puts housing insecurity at 7.1% of adults, against 14.2% nationally. Against a Boston baseline of 30.6%, around a third of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line.
The worst year on record was 2016, when filings touched 3.8% of renter households. Average gross rent is $2,330, 9% above the Boston average of $2,147. That places it #50 of 57 neighborhoods in Boston.
Judgments average 0.7% of renter households a year, the share of filings that actually convert to an order. Only 27% of units are renter-occupied. Rental comparables are thin here; price renewals off the nearest genuine rental sub-market rather than off surrounding sale prices.
For a like-for-like read, Readville and Inner Belt score within a fraction of it. Rent takes 18% of average household income, comfortably inside the 30% line and unusually low for a rental sub-market.
For a specific building, read the per-tract breakdown below rather than the 6.7 headline, because the internal range is too wide to average safely. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.
Risk score
6.7
Elevated
5 tracts · population-weighted
Highland vs BostonHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority36%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport34%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Highland
Aggregated across 2 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
75Total filings (sum)
1.56%Avg annual filing rate
3.8%Peak year (2016)
1.92%Latest filed (2016)
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
48Total filings 2020-21
0.3Avg monthly observed
0.6Pre-pandemic baseline
0.62×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 Highland
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
6.7%Housing insecurity
4.3%Utility shutoff threat
6.2%Food insecurity
6.5%SNAP enrollment
2.6%No health insurance
19.5%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Highland
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Highland?
Highland scores 6.7/10 (Elevated tier) across 5 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 Highland compare to Boston overall?
Highland scores 1.4 points lower than Boston overall (8.1/10). Renters spend 35% of income on rent vs 31% citywide. Average rent: $2,330 vs $2,147.
Q3
What is the average rent in Highland?
Average gross rent in Highland is $2,330/month (pop-weighted across 5 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 35% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Highland residents are renters?
27% of Highland households are renter-occupied (vs 64% in Boston). The neighborhood has 14,866 residents.
Q5
Is Highland a high social-vulnerability area?
Highland sits in the 18th 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 Highland have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Highland is census tract 25025981900 (score 8.1/10). Across the 5 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 6.7 to 8.1, a spread of 1.4 points.
Q7
How safe is Highland for landlords?
Highland carries a elevated-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (6.7/10). Pop-weighted across 5 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 Highland?
Highland has 15,220 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (78.6%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (8.7%), Hispanic / Latino (7.2%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
