7 census tracts · pop 28,542 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 4.9/10
· range 4.2–5.7
Menlo Park takes in 7 census tracts of Iselin, NJ, population 28,542. That produces an Eviction Risk Score of 4.9/10, Moderate tier. Against a Iselin baseline of 29.9%, 41% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line.
The main counterweight is economic stress, at 1.4/10. The severe-burden share is 22%. Those renters are past the 50% mark, and they miss rent for reasons that have nothing to do with willingness to pay. The 7 tracts inside this boundary do not behave alike. Individual scores run 4.2 to 5.7, a 1.5-point gap wide enough that the area average misleads on any specific address.
Court records carry 166 eviction filings across its 4 observed tracts. SNAP participation is 4.7% of households versus 15.2% nationally. Running hot is rent-regulation exposure at 7/10.
4.1% of adults report being unable to pay a utility bill, below a 9.2% national figure. Utility arrears usually lead rent arrears by a month or two. The worst year on record was 2015, when filings touched 109.1% of renter households.
Judgments average 0.1% 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. Poverty sits at 5%, low enough that arrears here usually reflect a specific shock rather than a structural income gap.
Average gross rent runs $2,112, close to the Iselin average. 35% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
Underwrite the address, not the area: with 1.5 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
4.9
Moderate
7 tracts · population-weighted
Menlo Park vs IselinHow 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 & transport51%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Menlo Park
Aggregated across 4 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
166Total filings (sum)
25.43%Avg annual filing rate
109.1%Peak year (2015)
25.43%Latest filed (2015)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Menlo Park
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
8.5%Housing insecurity
4.2%Utility shutoff threat
11.4%Food insecurity
4.9%SNAP enrollment
7.7%No health insurance
20.2%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Menlo Park
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Menlo Park?
Menlo Park scores 4.9/10 (Moderate tier) across 7 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 Menlo Park compare to Iselin overall?
Menlo Park scores 1.1 points lower than Iselin overall (6/10). Renters spend 41% of income on rent vs 30% citywide. Average rent: $2,112 vs $2,113.
Q3
What is the average rent in Menlo Park?
Average gross rent in Menlo Park is $2,112/month (pop-weighted across 7 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 41% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Menlo Park residents are renters?
35% of Menlo Park households are renter-occupied (vs 35% in Iselin). The neighborhood has 28,542 residents.
Q5
Is Menlo Park a high social-vulnerability area?
Menlo Park sits in the 48th 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.
Q6
Which tracts in Menlo Park have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Menlo Park is census tract 34023001901 (score 5.7/10). Across the 7 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 4.2 to 5.7, a spread of 1.5 points.
Q7
How safe is Menlo Park for landlords?
Menlo Park carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (4.9/10). Pop-weighted across 7 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Iselin as a whole (6/10), this neighborhood is lower-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Menlo Park?
Menlo Park has 29,193 residents. Top groups: Asian (non-Hispanic) (57.5%), White (non-Hispanic) (19.3%), Hispanic / Latino (12.3%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
