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Neighborhood · Hickory, NC

Sweetwater Eviction Risk: Moderate

2 census tracts · pop 6,940 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 4.8/10 · range 4.6–5.1

Sweetwater is a white-hispanic neighborhood in Hickory with 2 census tracts and a population of 6,940 residents. The neighborhood's pop-weighted eviction-risk score of 4.8/10 (Moderate tier) blends state law, county-level filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty. 31% of renters here pay at least 30% of household income on rent, and 7% are severely cost-burdened (≥50% of income). Average gross rent of $788/month sits 26% lower than the Hickory citywide average ($1,063).

Risk score
4.8
Moderate
2 tracts · population-weighted
Sweetwater vs Hickory How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
% of income on rent
30.7% +18%
Hickory: 26.0%
Average gross rent
$788 -26%
Hickory: $1,063
Average HH income
$55,505 -12%
Hickory: $63,361
Poverty rate
21.5% +27%
Hickory: 17.0%
Renter share
39.0% -13%
Hickory: 45.0%
Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Sweetwater and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 2 tracts span score 4.6–5.1

Why Sweetwater scores 4.8

9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly
State political climate
legislature & governorship · Range 2.3–2.3 across tracts
2.3
Regional political climate
County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 3.1–3.1 across tracts
3.1
Local political climate
Parent city governance · Range 3.8–3.8 across tracts
3.8
Rent control risk
31% of income on rent · Range 4.5–4.5 across tracts
4.5
Eviction process difficulty
State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 1.9–1.9 across tracts
1.9
Tenant organizing strength
39% renter households · Range 8.6–8.6 across tracts
8.6
Housing court bias
County bench composition · Range 5.9–5.9 across tracts
5.9
Economic stress
21.5% below poverty line · Range 5.1–5.9 across tracts
5.4
Supply constraint
Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.7–3.0 across tracts
2.5
Risk score comparison

Sweetwater vs. parent city, state, U.S.

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Sweetwater score vs. parent city, state, U.S.Sweetwater: 4.84.8SweetwaterNeighborhoodParent city: 2.42.4Parent cityhost cityState: 2.92.9Stateavg in stateU.S.: 4.74.7U.S.national avgU.S. avg = 5.0
Census tracts

2 tracts in Sweetwater

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

Tract Score Pop % over 30% on rent Average rent
37035011000 5.1 2,658 40% $705
37035010304 4.6 4,282 25% $840
Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 91

Pop-weighted across 2 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 81%ile
Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden
Household characteristics 93%ile
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority 63%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport 90%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.

Frequently asked

About Sweetwater

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for Sweetwater?

Sweetwater scores 4.8/10 (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 2.4 points higher than Hickory overall (2.4/10). 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 5.1/10). Across the 2 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 4.6 to 5.1, a spread of 0.5 points.
Q7

How safe is Sweetwater for landlords?

Sweetwater carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (4.8/10). 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 (2.4/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8

What is the demographic breakdown of Sweetwater?

Sweetwater has 6,933 residents (White-Hispanic Neighborhood). Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (45.8%), Hispanic / Latino (37.9%), Black (non-Hispanic) (11.3%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Sweetwater

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Hickory

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Sweetwater.

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