2 census tracts · pop 6,631 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 5.8/10
· range 5.3–6.5
Waite Park takes in 2 census tracts of Columbia Heights, MN and houses 6,631 people. The Eviction Risk Score is 5.8/10, in the Moderate tier. Cost burden runs 57% against 43.8% citywide, putting Waite Park 13.1% over its own city.
The dominant input is rent-regulation exposure at 9/10. 25% are severely burdened, paying half their income or more in rent. That cohort has no absorption capacity for an unexpected bill, and it is where non-payment filings originate. Well under the midpoint is supply constraint, at 2.1/10.
Internally this is not one market. Tract scores span 5.3 to 6.5, so two buildings inside the same boundary can carry materially different risk. Sitting well above the midpoint is housing-court posture at 7.8/10.
Filings are well documented here: 146 across 2 observed tracts. Filing activity peaked in 2012 at 4.5% of renter households.
At $1,193 a month, rents sit 8% under what the rest of Columbia Heights commands. Judgments average 1.3% of renter households a year, the share of filings that actually convert to an order. Rent takes 19% of average household income, comfortably inside the 30% line and unusually low for a rental sub-market.
39% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
For a specific building, read the per-tract breakdown below rather than the 5.8 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
5.8
Moderate
2 tracts · population-weighted
Waite Park vs Columbia HeightsHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority63%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport63%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Waite Park
Aggregated across 2 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
146Total filings (sum)
3.31%Avg annual filing rate
4.5%Peak year (2012)
2.99%Latest filed (2012)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Waite Park
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
14.3%Housing insecurity
9.3%Utility shutoff threat
17.8%Food insecurity
13.9%SNAP enrollment
10.4%No health insurance
32.6%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Waite Park
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Waite Park?
Waite Park scores 5.8/10 (Moderate tier) across 2 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 Waite Park compare to Columbia Heights overall?
Waite Park scores 0.7 points higher than Columbia Heights overall (5.1/10). Renters spend 57% of income on rent vs 44% citywide. Average rent: $1,193 vs $1,295.
Q3
What is the average rent in Waite Park?
Average gross rent in Waite Park is $1,193/month (pop-weighted across 2 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 57% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Waite Park residents are renters?
39% of Waite Park households are renter-occupied (vs 34% in Columbia Heights). The neighborhood has 6,631 residents.
Q5
Is Waite Park a high social-vulnerability area?
Waite Park sits in the 57th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (moderately vulnerable). The index combines poverty, unemployment, household composition, racial/ethnic minority share, and housing/transportation factors across all US census tracts.
Q6
Which tracts in Waite Park have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Waite Park is census tract 27003051501 (score 6.5/10). Across the 2 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 5.3 to 6.5, a spread of 1.2 points.
Q7
How safe is Waite Park for landlords?
Waite Park carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (5.8/10). Pop-weighted across 2 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Columbia Heights as a whole (5.1/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Waite Park?
Waite Park has 6,812 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (49.9%), Black (non-Hispanic) (27%), Hispanic / Latino (12.1%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
