2 census tracts · pop 6,940 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 5.1/10
· range 4.9–5.4
Sweetwater takes in 2 census tracts of Hickory, NC, population 6,940. It carries an Eviction Risk Score of 5.1/10, in the Moderate tier. What pushes the score up most is tenant-organizing strength at 8.6/10.
Average gross rent is $788, 26% below the Hickory average of $1,063. On the softer side is eviction-process difficulty, at 1.9/10. The poverty rate is 22%, which shows up in this model as reduced rent-recovery odds after a judgment.
Court records carry 2,611 eviction filings across its 2 observed tracts. Running cool is supply constraint, at 2.5/10.
Against a Hickory baseline of 26.0%, 31% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line. 18.6% of adults carry no health insurance against 11.3% nationally, a common route into sudden unpayable debt.
Filing activity peaked in 2007 at 68.0% of renter households. The most recent observed rate, 18.5% in 2018, is well off that peak.
Among the 8 mapped neighborhoods of Hickory, it ranks #3 by risk, the middle third. Social vulnerability runs high at 9.2/10, concentrating the disaster- and displacement-exposure this model treats as a lagging risk input.
Against average income of $55,505, annual rent is only 17%, a wide affordability cushion. The 2 tracts here are tightly clustered, 0.5 points apart at the extremes.
With little internal variation, 5.1/10 is a fair proxy for any address inside the boundary. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.
Risk score
5.1
Moderate
2 tracts · population-weighted
Sweetwater vs HickoryHow 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 & transport90%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Sweetwater
Aggregated across 2 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
2,611Total filings (sum)
18.46%Avg annual filing rate
68.0%Peak year (2007)
15.40%Latest filed (2018)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Sweetwater
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
18.1%Housing insecurity
11.6%Utility shutoff threat
24.2%Food insecurity
20.0%SNAP enrollment
18.4%No health insurance
37.6%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Sweetwater
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Sweetwater?
Sweetwater scores 5.1/10 (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 Sweetwater compare to Hickory overall?
Sweetwater scores 1.1 points higher than Hickory overall (4/10). Renters spend 31% of income on rent vs 26% citywide. Average rent: $788 vs $1,063.
Q3
What is the average rent in Sweetwater?
Average gross rent in Sweetwater is $788/month (pop-weighted across 2 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 31% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Sweetwater residents are renters?
39% of Sweetwater households are renter-occupied (vs 45% in Hickory). The neighborhood has 6,940 residents.
Q5
Is Sweetwater a high social-vulnerability area?
Sweetwater sits in the 91st 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 Sweetwater have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Sweetwater is census tract 37035011000 (score 5.4/10). Across the 2 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 4.9 to 5.4, a spread of 0.5 points.
Q7
How safe is Sweetwater for landlords?
Sweetwater carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (5.1/10). 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 Hickory as a whole (4/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Sweetwater?
Sweetwater has 6,933 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (45.8%), Hispanic / Latino (37.9%), Black (non-Hispanic) (11.3%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
