3 census tracts · pop 15,756 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 4.5/10
· range 4.2–5.1
Pumptown spans 3 census tracts of Metuchen, NJ, population 15,756. It carries an Eviction Risk Score of 4.5/10, in the Moderate tier. The main counterweight is economic stress, at 1.2/10.
21% 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. Rent consumes at least 30% of income for 29% of renter households. At $1,569 a month, rents sit 24% under what the rest of Metuchen commands.
SNAP participation is 3.0% of households versus 15.2% nationally. Court records carry 49 eviction filings across its 3 observed tracts.
3.3% 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 5.3% of renter households. At 24% renter-occupied, this is predominantly owner territory, and rental comps have to be drawn from further out.
Against average income of $183,907, annual rent is only 10%, a wide affordability cushion. Poverty sits at 2%, low enough that arrears here usually reflect a specific shock rather than a structural income gap. Its 3 tracts score within 0.9 points of one another, so the area figure travels well to individual addresses.
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
4.5
Moderate
3 tracts · population-weighted
Pumptown vs MetuchenHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority77%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport26%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Pumptown
Aggregated across 3 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
49Total filings (sum)
4.70%Avg annual filing rate
5.3%Peak year (2015)
4.70%Latest filed (2015)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Pumptown
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
6.3%Housing insecurity
3.3%Utility shutoff threat
7.4%Food insecurity
3.0%SNAP enrollment
5.1%No health insurance
16.6%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Pumptown
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Pumptown?
Pumptown scores 4.5/10 (Moderate 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.
Q2
How does Pumptown compare to Metuchen overall?
Pumptown scores 1.5 points lower than Metuchen overall (6/10). Renters spend 29% of income on rent vs 27% citywide. Average rent: $1,569 vs $2,078.
Q3
What is the average rent in Pumptown?
Average gross rent in Pumptown is $1,569/month (pop-weighted across 3 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 29% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Pumptown residents are renters?
24% of Pumptown households are renter-occupied (vs 25% in Metuchen). The neighborhood has 15,756 residents.
Q5
Is Pumptown a high social-vulnerability area?
Pumptown sits in the 16th 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.
Q6
Which tracts in Pumptown have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Pumptown is census tract 34023002000 (score 5.1/10). Across the 3 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 4.2 to 5.1, a spread of 0.9 points.
Q7
How safe is Pumptown for landlords?
Pumptown carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (4.5/10). 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 Metuchen as a whole (6/10), this neighborhood is lower-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Pumptown?
Pumptown has 15,777 residents. Top groups: Asian (non-Hispanic) (53.9%), White (non-Hispanic) (30.4%), Other / Multiracial (7.8%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
