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Census Tract · Ranked #5,690 of 84,120 nationally

Chester Eviction Risk: Elevated

Tract 42045405200 · Delaware County, PA · pop 2,820

For landlords sizing up Chester, census tract 42045405200 carries an elevated eviction-risk score of 7.5/10. It lands near the 98th percentile nationally for landlord eviction risk.

About 52% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a severe level, and 27% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $848 monthly, set against $36,200 in average yearly household income, roughly 28% of income at the averages. Renters make up 61% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score
6.8
Elevated
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 32% Stable renters 29% Owners 39%
Tract context
Occupied units1,236
Renter share61.2%
SVI overall0.78
Poverty rate44.7%
Median income$36,200

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within parent city
64 th percentile
Rank, 64th percentileLowHigh
#5 of 12 tracts In Chester
Elevated
Within county
97 th percentile
Rank, 97th percentileLowHigh
#6 of 152 tracts In Delaware County
Very High
Within state
96 th percentile
Rank, 96th percentileLowHigh
#145 of 3,445 tracts In Pennsylvania
Very High
National
93 th percentile
Rank, 93rd percentileLowHigh
#5,690 of 84,120 tracts In U.S.
Very High
Geographic context

Risk heat across Chester and the region

Centroid at 39.8425, -75.3833 · click any tract to drill in

Why Chester scores 6.8

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly
Local political climate
Inherited from Chester
6.7
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
6.3
State political climate
Pennsylvania legislature & governorship
3.4
Economic stress
44.7% poverty · this tract
10.0
Supply constraint
$848 rent vs county FMR
1.0
Rent control risk
Inherited from Chester
8.5
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
3.5
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Chester
9.6
Housing court bias
Inherited from Chester
8.8

How Chester compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
Chester risk score vs. parent city / county / stateThis tract: 6.86.8This tracttract 405200Chester: 4.64.6Chesterparent cityCounty: 3.43.4Countyavg tract in countyState: 3.93.9Stateavg tract in state
CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 78

CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.

Historical context · 1930s redlining

HOLC grade: C: Definitely Declining

This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade C meant mixed-race / working-class neighborhoods rated as risky. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.

Source: Mapping Inequality (americanpanorama.org), 1935-1940 HOLC residential security maps, aggregated to 2020 census tracts by area share. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

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)

  • 330Total filings over 7 yrs
  • 6.95%Avg annual filing rate
  • 10.5%Peak (2004)
  • 58Filings in 2006 (latest validated)
Filings by year 2000 to 2006
Year-by-year eviction filings in tract 420454052002000: 53 filings (8.55/100 renter HHs)2001: 43 filings (6.93/100 renter HHs)2002: 37 filings (5.97/100 renter HHs)2003: 31 filings (5.00/100 renter HHs)2004: 65 filings (10.48/100 renter HHs)2005: 43 filings (4.99/100 renter HHs)2006: 58 filings (6.73/100 renter HHs)
Filings stayed roughly flat over the past 7 months.
Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Chester

What moves this score most is economic stress at $1/10. That part is specific to this tract, computed from its own rent, income, and poverty figures. Statewide and court-level factors such as eviction-process speed and rent-control exposure are inherited from Chester eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores well above the Delaware County average of 5.9 and above the Pennsylvania statewide average of 5.4. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 330 eviction filings here over 7 tracked years, with about 7.0% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 10.5% of renter households in 2004.

The tract is predominantly Black and ranks around the 78th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. High vulnerability tends to track with higher eviction-filing rates when rents climb.

For a landlord, this is a tract where process discipline pays off. Clean paperwork and steady screening keep the elevated risk manageable.

Frequently asked

About tract 42045405200

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 42045405200?

Census tract 42045405200 in Chester scores 6.8/10 (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 42045405200?

Median gross rent is $848/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 52% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3

What is the poverty rate in tract 42045405200?

44.7% of residents in tract 42045405200 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,820.
Q4

How socially vulnerable is tract 42045405200?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 78th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 79th, household 94th, minority 99th, housing 26th.
Q5

How many evictions are filed each year in tract 42045405200?

Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 330 eviction filings across 7 validated years in tract 42045405200 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 6.95% of renter households, peaking at 10.5% in 2004. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q6

How does tract 42045405200 compare to Chester overall?

Tract 42045405200 scores 6.8/10, higher than the parent city of Chester at 4.6/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Chester eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q7

Was tract 42045405200 historically redlined?

Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of C. 7% of the tract's area was rated D ("Hazardous"), the redlined tier. HOLC redlining systematically denied mortgage credit to Black, immigrant, and working-class neighborhoods and remains a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings, rent burden, and homeownership gaps. Source: Mapping Inequality (americanpanorama.org), Robert K. Nelson et al.
Sibling tracts

Highest-risk tracts in Chester

Top eight tracts in Chester ranked by composite eviction-risk score.

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