Neighborhood · Boston, MA

Waterfront Eviction Risk: Elevated

4 census tracts · pop 9,620 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 6.9/10 · range 6.7–7.2

Waterfront takes in 4 census tracts of Boston, MA and houses 9,620 people. It carries an Eviction Risk Score of 6.9/10, in the Elevated tier. Cost burden runs 42% against 30.6% citywide, putting Waterfront 11.7% over its own city.

The strongest single driver of the headline number is tenant-organizing strength at 8.5/10. At $2,729 a month, rents sit 27% over what the rest of Boston commands.

On the softer side is economic stress, at 1.8/10. Running hot is rent-regulation exposure at 8/10. The severe-burden share is 15%. Those renters are past the 50% mark, and they miss rent for reasons that have nothing to do with willingness to pay.

Disability prevalence reaches 17.3% against a 31.5% national average, which raises the odds a reasonable-accommodation request accompanies any dispute. Court records for this tract carry 221 eviction filings. SNAP participation is 6.6% of households versus 15.2% nationally.

Filing activity peaked in 2013 at 3.1% of renter households. Recent filings have not receded much: 2.9% in 2016 against a 3.1% peak.

That places it #45 of 57 neighborhoods in Boston. Poverty sits at 6%, low enough that arrears here usually reflect a specific shock rather than a structural income gap.

The area figure travels well to individual addresses here, though the per-tract table below still carries the detail. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.

Risk score

6.9

Elevated

4 tracts · population-weighted

Waterfront vs Boston How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average

% of income on rent

42.3% +38%

Boston: 30.6%

Average gross rent

$2,729 +27%

Boston: $2,147

Average HH income

$147,388 +56%

Boston: $94,755

Poverty rate

6.4% -62%

Boston: 16.9%

Renter share

63.9% -1%

Boston: 64.3%

Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Waterfront and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 4 tracts span score 6.7–7.2

Why Waterfront scores 6.9

9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly

State political climate

legislature & governorship · Range 6.2–6.2 across tracts

6.2

Regional political climate

County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 8.2–8.2 across tracts

8.2

Local political climate

Parent city governance · Range 8.5–8.5 across tracts

8.5

Rent control risk

42% of income on rent · Range 8.0–8.0 across tracts

8.0

Eviction process difficulty

State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 8.0–8.0 across tracts

8.0

Tenant organizing strength

64% renter households · Range 8.5–8.5 across tracts

8.5

Housing court bias

County bench composition · Range 8.0–8.0 across tracts

8.0

Economic stress

6.4% below poverty line · Range 1.0–2.6 across tracts

1.8

Supply constraint

Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.3–7.3 across tracts

4.6

Risk score comparison

Waterfront vs. parent city, state, U.S.

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Variance across tracts

How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Waterfront?

Left: distribution of constituent tract scores. Right: every tract as a heat square. Click any square to drill in.

Score distribution

0246810

Spread of 0.5 points from 6.7 to 7.2. Tracts are relatively uniform, so conditions feel similar throughout the neighborhood.

Tracts as heat grid

7.2 6.7 6.7 6.7

Each square = one census tract. Color tracks the same green→red ramp as the chloropleth map above.

Census tracts

4 tracts in Waterfront

Ranked highest-risk first. Click for per-tract detail.

Tract↕	Score↕	Pop↕	% over 30% on rent↕	Average rent↕
25025040801	7.2	4,129	50%	$1,795
25025060604	6.7	2,772	37%	$3,501
25025030301	6.7	1,478	30%	$3,239
25025060603	6.7	1,241	44%	$3,501

Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 36

Pop-weighted across 4 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 27%ile

Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden

Household characteristics 33%ile

Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+

Racial/ethnic minority 43%ile

Hispanic + non-white share of population

Housing & transport 67%ile

Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle

Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab

Court-record eviction history in Waterfront

Aggregated across 1 validated constituent tract. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

221Total filings (sum)
2.87%Avg annual filing rate
3.1%Peak year (2013)
2.90%Latest filed (2016)

Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)

191Total filings 2020-21
0.9Avg monthly observed
1.8Pre-pandemic baseline
2.50×Ratio to baseline

Pandemic filings ran above baseline. Tracked under Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Boston, MA).

CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted

Eviction-adjacent indicators in Waterfront

Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.

7.9%Housing insecurity
5.0%Utility shutoff threat
7.9%Food insecurity
8.2%SNAP enrollment
3.3%No health insurance
18.4%Any disability

Frequently asked

About Waterfront

What is the eviction-risk score for Waterfront?

Waterfront scores 6.9/10 (Elevated tier) across 4 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.

How does Waterfront compare to Boston overall?

Waterfront scores 1.2 points lower than Boston overall (8.1/10). Renters spend 42% of income on rent vs 31% citywide. Average rent: $2,729 vs $2,147.

What is the average rent in Waterfront?

Average gross rent in Waterfront is $2,729/month (pop-weighted across 4 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 42% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What percentage of Waterfront residents are renters?

64% of Waterfront households are renter-occupied (vs 64% in Boston). The neighborhood has 9,620 residents.

Is Waterfront a high social-vulnerability area?

Waterfront sits in the 36th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (less vulnerable). The index combines poverty, unemployment, household composition, racial/ethnic minority share, and housing/transportation factors across all US census tracts.

Which tracts in Waterfront have the highest eviction risk?

The highest-risk constituent tract in Waterfront is census tract 25025040801 (score 7.2/10). Across the 4 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 6.7 to 7.2, a spread of 0.5 points.

How safe is Waterfront for landlords?

Waterfront carries a elevated-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (6.9/10). Pop-weighted across 4 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.

What is the demographic breakdown of Waterfront?

Waterfront has 10,178 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (71.5%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (11.9%), Hispanic / Latino (8.2%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.

Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Waterfront

6.8 Dock Square 2 tracts · pop 6,077 7.2 Jeffries Point 2 tracts · pop 3,273 7 Bulfinch Triangle 9 tracts · pop 21,559 7.9 Gove Street 4 tracts · pop 10,305 7.9 Church Green 6 tracts · pop 13,802 7.6 Downtown Crossing 9 tracts · pop 20,283

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Boston

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Waterfront.

6.9 Government Center/Faneuil Hall 1 tracts · pop 2,377 6.9 Milton Upper Mills 1 tracts · pop 6,346 6.9 Fairmount 2 tracts · pop 14,049 6.9 Bulfinch Triangle 9 tracts · pop 21,559 7 Oak Square 3 tracts · pop 10,325 6.8 Dock Square 2 tracts · pop 6,077

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