Within neighborhood
50
th percentile
Moderate
Neighborhood · Ranked #9,433 of 84,120 nationally
Mercers Mill Eviction Risk: Elevated , West Chester
Tract 42029302500 · Chester County, PA · pop 3,635 · neighborhood within 0.5 mi
42029302500 is a census tract in the Mercers Mill area of West Chester, PA. It scores 7.7/10 for landlords. It is home to 3,635 residents. It sits 3.3 points above the Chester County average of 4.4.
Risk score
7.7
Elevated
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 24%
Stable renters 34%
Owners 42%
Tract context
Occupied units1,577
Renter share58.2%
SVI overall0.41
Poverty rate18.9%
Median income$98,519
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
100
th percentile
Very High
Within county
99
th percentile
Very High
Within state
96
th percentile
Very High
Geographic context
Risk heat across West Chester and the region
Centroid at 39.9538, -75.6075 · click any tract to drill in
Why Mercers Mill scores 7.7
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from West Chester
6.3
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
5.9
State political climate
Pennsylvania legislature & governorship
3.4
Economic stress
18.9% poverty · this tract
4.7
Supply constraint
$1,485 rent vs county FMR
3.2
Rent control risk
Inherited from West Chester
6.5
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
3.2
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from West Chester
9.7
Housing court bias
Inherited from West Chester
7.1
How Mercers Mill compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 41
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 55%Socioeconomic
- 8%Household composition
- 44%Racial/ethnic minority
- 58%Housing & transportation
Eviction filings
Court-record eviction history
Court-validated eviction filings collected from county clerks and consolidated by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households.1
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
- 126Total filings over 7 yrs
- 1.81%Avg annual filing rate
- 2.8%Peak (2002)
- 16Filings in 2006 (latest validated)
Filings climbed 100% over the past 7 months.
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Mercers Mill
The dominant input is tenant-organizing strength at 9.7/10. Severe burden reaches 23%. Those are renters paying half their income or more, and that is where non-payment filings originate. The poverty rate is 19%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than filing counts suggest.
Sitting well above the midpoint, housing-court posture reads 7.1/10. Court records carry 126 eviction filings across 7 observed years.
At $1,485 a month, rents run 14% under what the rest of West Chester commands. The worst year on record was 2002, when 2.8% of renter households were served.
In a typical year about 1.8% of renter households face a filing. That is riskier than roughly 89% of the 84,120 US census tracts in this model.
On the CDC Social Vulnerability Index the tract reads 4.7/10, which tracks how hard a shock lands on the households already here. Statewide the PA average is 4.6, so this tract runs 3.1 points hotter. Of its three components the household composition measure is the least pressured.
41% of renter households spend at least 30% of income on rent.
Tract-level figures come from the ACS 5-year release and are rebuilt whenever that, the court-record feed, or the statutory ledger behind the score changes.
Frequently asked
About tract 42029302500
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 42029302500?
Census tract 42029302500 in the Mercers Mill neighborhood scores 7.7/10 (Elevated tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.
Q2
What is the average rent in tract 42029302500?
Median gross rent is $1,485/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 41% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 42029302500?
18.9% of residents in tract 42029302500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,635.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 42029302500?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 41th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 55th, household 8th, minority 44th, housing 58th.
Q5
Is tract 42029302500 considered part of Mercers Mill?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 42029302500 fall within Mercers Mill (neighborhood centroid within 0.5 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 42029302500?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 126 eviction filings across 7 validated years in tract 42029302500 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 1.81% of renter households, peaking at 2.8% in 2002. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
How does tract 42029302500 compare to West Chester overall?
Tract 42029302500 scores 7.7/10, higher than the parent city of West Chester at 6.3/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from West Chester eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Sibling tracts
Highest-risk tracts in West Chester
Top eight tracts in West Chester ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
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