Neighborhood · St. Paul, MN

Merriam Park Eviction Risk: Elevated

3 census tracts · pop 9,082 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 6.1/10 · range 5.4–7.3

Merriam Park spans 3 census tracts of St. Paul, MN, population 9,082. It carries an Eviction Risk Score of 6.1/10, in the Elevated tier. Cost burden runs 41% against 30.0% citywide, putting Merriam Park 11.1% over its own city.

The strongest single driver of the headline number is rent-regulation exposure at 8.5/10. Sitting well above the midpoint is tenant-organizing strength at 8.5/10. The 3 tracts inside this boundary do not behave alike. Individual scores run 5.4 to 7.3, a 1.9-point gap wide enough that the area average misleads on any specific address.

19% 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. Filings are well documented here: 126 across 3 observed tracts.

On the high side is eviction-process difficulty at 7.5/10. SNAP participation is 5.3% of households versus 15.2% nationally.

Filing activity peaked in 2015 at 3.0% of renter households. Food insecurity affects 9.1% of adults, 8.7 points below the national rate.

Among the 23 mapped neighborhoods of St. Paul, it ranks #20 by risk, the lower third. Judgments average 0.4% 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 6.1 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

6.1

Elevated

3 tracts · population-weighted

Merriam Park vs St. Paul How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average

% of income on rent

41.1% +37%

St. Paul: 30.0%

Average gross rent

$1,269 -1%

St. Paul: $1,281

Average HH income

$94,851 +24%

St. Paul: $76,411

Poverty rate

10.8% -31%

St. Paul: 15.8%

Renter share

42.7% -9%

St. Paul: 47.1%

Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Merriam Park and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 3 tracts span score 5.4–7.3

Why Merriam Park scores 6.1

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

State political climate

legislature & governorship · Range 4.3–4.3 across tracts

4.3

Regional political climate

County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 7.3–7.3 across tracts

7.3

Local political climate

Parent city governance · Range 9.0–9.0 across tracts

9.0

Rent control risk

41% of income on rent · Range 8.5–8.5 across tracts

8.5

Eviction process difficulty

State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 7.5–7.5 across tracts

7.5

Tenant organizing strength

43% renter households · Range 8.5–8.5 across tracts

8.5

Housing court bias

County bench composition · Range 7.5–7.5 across tracts

7.5

Economic stress

10.8% below poverty line · Range 1.6–4.6 across tracts

2.7

Supply constraint

Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 2.1–2.8 across tracts

2.5

Risk score comparison

Merriam Park vs. parent city, state, U.S.

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Variance across tracts

How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Merriam Park?

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

Score distribution

0246810

Spread of 1.9 points from 5.4 to 7.3. Moderate variation across constituent tracts.

Tracts as heat grid

7.3 5.6 5.4

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

Census tracts

3 tracts in Merriam Park

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

Tract↕	Score↕	Pop↕	% over 30% on rent↕	Average rent↕
27123033300	7.3	3,156	51%	$1,302
27123035000	5.6	2,625	43%	$1,321
27123035100	5.4	3,301	30%	$1,197

Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 22

Pop-weighted across 3 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 31%ile

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

Household characteristics 8%ile

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

Racial/ethnic minority 29%ile

Hispanic + non-white share of population

Housing & transport 49%ile

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

Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab

Court-record eviction history in Merriam Park

Aggregated across 3 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

126Total filings (sum)
1.11%Avg annual filing rate
3.0%Peak year (2015)
1.17%Latest filed (2015)

Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)

100Total filings 2020-21
0.4Avg monthly observed
0.3Pre-pandemic baseline
1.28×Ratio to baseline

Pandemic filings ran near baseline. Tracked under Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN).

CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted

Eviction-adjacent indicators in Merriam Park

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

7.5%Housing insecurity
4.5%Utility shutoff threat
9.2%Food insecurity
5.3%SNAP enrollment
5.4%No health insurance
22.7%Any disability

Frequently asked

About Merriam Park

What is the eviction-risk score for Merriam Park?

Merriam Park scores 6.1/10 (Elevated tier) across 3 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 Merriam Park compare to St. Paul overall?

Merriam Park scores 0.4 points lower than St. Paul overall (6.5/10). Renters spend 41% of income on rent vs 30% citywide. Average rent: $1,269 vs $1,281.

What is the average rent in Merriam Park?

Average gross rent in Merriam Park is $1,269/month (pop-weighted across 3 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 41% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What percentage of Merriam Park residents are renters?

43% of Merriam Park households are renter-occupied (vs 47% in St. Paul). The neighborhood has 9,082 residents.

Is Merriam Park a high social-vulnerability area?

Merriam Park sits in the 22nd 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.

Which tracts in Merriam Park have the highest eviction risk?

The highest-risk constituent tract in Merriam Park is census tract 27123033300 (score 7.3/10). Across the 3 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 5.4 to 7.3, a spread of 1.9 points.

How safe is Merriam Park for landlords?

Merriam Park carries a elevated-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (6.1/10). Pop-weighted across 3 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to St. Paul as a whole (6.5/10), this neighborhood is lower-risk.

What is the demographic breakdown of Merriam Park?

Merriam Park has 9,136 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (80%), Other / Multiracial (7.4%), Hispanic / Latino (5.1%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.

Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Merriam Park

6.3 Shadow Falls 2 tracts · pop 5,519 6.7 Snelling - Hamline 3 tracts · pop 11,063 5.3 Highland Village 5 tracts · pop 21,748 6.9 Iris Park 3 tracts · pop 7,953 5.8 Lexington - Hamline 5 tracts · pop 16,644 7.7 South Saint Anthony Park 2 tracts · pop 5,910

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside St. Paul

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Merriam Park.

6.1 Northome 3 tracts · pop 14,244 6.2 West Seventh - Fort Road 3 tracts · pop 7,781 6.2 Summit Hill 3 tracts · pop 11,662 6.4 Shadow Falls 2 tracts · pop 5,519 5.7 Lexington - Hamline 5 tracts · pop 16,644 6.5 Greater East Side 2 tracts · pop 10,678

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