5 census tracts · pop 12,941 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 8.5/10
· range 7–9.4
Hilltop takes in 5 census tracts of Jersey City, NJ and houses 12,941 people. Scored across those inputs it reaches 8.5/10, placing it in the High tier. 49% of renters here are cost-burdened at the 30% threshold, well clear of the Jersey City rate of 27.5%.
This is a renter market: 83% of occupied units are tenant-occupied. The severe-burden share is 26%. Those renters are past the 50% mark, and they miss rent for reasons that have nothing to do with willingness to pay.
Internally this is not one market. Tract scores span 7 to 9.4, so two buildings inside the same boundary can carry materially different risk. The dominant input is rent-regulation exposure at 8.5/10.
On the high side is eviction-process difficulty at 8/10. Sitting well above the midpoint is housing-court posture at 8/10.
Court records carry 1,609 eviction filings across its 4 observed tracts. At $1,720 a month, rents sit 14% under what the rest of Jersey City commands.
The worst year on record was 2017, when filings touched 25.9% of renter households. The most recent observed rate, 13.5% in 2018, is well off that peak.
That places it #2 of 8 neighborhoods in Jersey City. The closest comparables inside the same city are McGinley Square and Indian Square. Social vulnerability runs high at 8.2/10, concentrating the disaster- and displacement-exposure this model treats as a lagging risk input.
Underwrite the address, not the area: with 2.4 points between its best and worst tract, the per-tract table below is the operative number. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.
Risk score
8.5
High
5 tracts · population-weighted
Hilltop vs Jersey CityHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority84%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport85%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Hilltop
Aggregated across 4 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
1,609Total filings (sum)
13.67%Avg annual filing rate
25.9%Peak year (2017)
12.66%Latest filed (2018)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Hilltop
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
15.0%Housing insecurity
8.9%Utility shutoff threat
20.2%Food insecurity
12.3%SNAP enrollment
13.3%No health insurance
24.6%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Hilltop
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Hilltop?
Hilltop scores 8.5/10 (High 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 Hilltop compare to Jersey City overall?
Hilltop scores 0.5 points higher than Jersey City overall (8/10). Renters spend 49% of income on rent vs 28% citywide. Average rent: $1,720 vs $2,007.
Q3
What is the average rent in Hilltop?
Average gross rent in Hilltop is $1,720/month (pop-weighted across 5 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 49% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Hilltop residents are renters?
83% of Hilltop households are renter-occupied (vs 72% in Jersey City). The neighborhood has 12,941 residents.
Q5
Is Hilltop a high social-vulnerability area?
Hilltop sits in the 80th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (highly 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 Hilltop have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Hilltop is census tract 34017001202 (score 9.4/10). Across the 5 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 7 to 9.4, a spread of 2.4 points.
Q7
How safe is Hilltop for landlords?
Hilltop carries a high-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (8.5/10). 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 Jersey City as a whole (8/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Hilltop?
Hilltop has 12,272 residents. Top groups: Asian (non-Hispanic) (35%), Hispanic / Latino (25.7%), White (non-Hispanic) (25%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
