8 census tracts · pop 20,859 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 5.2/10
· range 4–5.6
Downtown spans 8 census tracts of Marion, OH, population 20,859. Scored across those inputs it reaches 5.2/10, placing it in the Moderate tier. Cost burden runs roughly one in two against 30.6% citywide, putting Downtown 19.3% over its own city.
The dominant input is tenant-organizing strength at 8.6/10. 22% 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.
The 8 tracts inside this boundary do not behave alike. Individual scores run 4 to 5.6, a 1.6-point gap wide enough that the area average misleads on any specific address. The poverty rate is 25%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than the filing statistics suggest.
Well under the midpoint is eviction-process difficulty, at 2.5/10. Filings are well documented here: 2,351 across 8 observed tracts. Sitting well above the midpoint is housing-court posture at 7.4/10.
Filing activity peaked in 2018 at 16.9% of renter households. Judgments average 5.3% of renter households a year, the share of filings that actually convert to an order.
Average gross rent runs $842, close to the Marion average. Annual rent works out to 24% of average household income of $41,840. 48% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
For a specific building, read the per-tract breakdown below rather than the 5.2 headline, because the internal range is too wide to average safely. Scores move when the ACS release, the court-record feed, or the statute ledger behind them moves.
Risk score
5.2
Moderate
8 tracts · population-weighted
Downtown vs MarionHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
% of income on rent
49.9%+63%
Marion: 30.6%
Average gross rent
$842-2%
Marion: $856
Average HH income
$41,840-9%
Marion: $45,829
Poverty rate
24.6%+12%
Marion: 22.1%
Renter share
48.3%+13%
Marion: 42.8%
Geographic context
Risk heat across Downtown and the region
Click any tract to drill in · 8 tracts span score 4–5.6
Why Downtown scores 5.2
9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly
State political climate
legislature & governorship · Range 2.4–2.4 across tracts
2.4
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
50% of income on rent · Range 6.6–6.6 across tracts
6.6
Eviction process difficulty
State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 2.5–2.5 across tracts
2.5
Tenant organizing strength
48% renter households · Range 8.6–8.6 across tracts
8.6
Housing court bias
County bench composition · Range 7.4–7.4 across tracts
7.4
Economic stress
24.6% below poverty line · Range 2.6–9.6 across tracts
6.2
Supply constraint
Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.6–4.3 across tracts
3.7
Risk score comparison
Downtown vs. parent city, state, U.S.
Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).
Variance across tracts
How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Downtown?
Left: distribution of constituent tract scores. Right: every tract as a heat square. Click any square to drill in.
Score distribution
0246810
Spread of 1.6 points from
4 to
5.6.
Moderate variation across constituent tracts.
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority25%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport53%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Downtown
Aggregated across 8 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
2,351Total filings (sum)
8.73%Avg annual filing rate
16.9%Peak year (2018)
8.74%Latest filed (2018)
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Downtown
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
16.7%Housing insecurity
13.2%Utility shutoff threat
23.5%Food insecurity
23.5%SNAP enrollment
11.6%No health insurance
39.4%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Downtown
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Downtown?
Downtown scores 5.2/10 (Moderate tier) across 8 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 Downtown compare to Marion overall?
Downtown scores 1.0 points higher than Marion overall (4.2/10). Renters spend 50% of income on rent vs 31% citywide. Average rent: $842 vs $856.
Q3
What is the average rent in Downtown?
Average gross rent in Downtown is $842/month (pop-weighted across 8 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 50% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Downtown residents are renters?
48% of Downtown households are renter-occupied (vs 43% in Marion). The neighborhood has 20,859 residents.
Q5
Is Downtown a high social-vulnerability area?
Downtown sits in the 67th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (moderately 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 Downtown have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Downtown is census tract 39101000900 (score 5.6/10). Across the 8 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 4 to 5.6, a spread of 1.6 points.
Q7
How safe is Downtown for landlords?
Downtown carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (5.2/10). Pop-weighted across 8 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Marion as a whole (4.2/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Downtown?
Downtown has 20,388 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (83.6%), Other / Multiracial (6.8%), Hispanic / Latino (4.8%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
