Neighborhood · Wilkes-Barre, PA

Goose Island Eviction Risk: Moderate

3 census tracts · pop 10,871 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 4.6/10 · range 3.5–5.3

Goose Island spans 3 census tracts of Wilkes-Barre, PA and houses 10,871 people. The Eviction Risk Score is 4.6/10, in the Moderate tier. 27% 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.

39% of renters here are cost-burdened at the 30% threshold, ahead of the Wilkes-Barre rate of 30.7%. Internally this is not one market. Tract scores span 3.5 to 5.3, so two buildings inside the same boundary can carry materially different risk. The dominant input is tenant-organizing strength at 7.2/10.

Filings are well documented here: 568 across 3 observed tracts. The poverty rate is 17%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than the filing statistics suggest.

Filing activity peaked in 2005 at 9.6% of renter households. Average gross rent is $857, 9% below the Wilkes-Barre average of $946. Recent filings have not receded much: 7.1% in 2006 against a 9.6% peak.

Among the 5 mapped neighborhoods of Wilkes-Barre, it ranks #5 by risk, the lower third. Social vulnerability runs high at 8/10, concentrating the disaster- and displacement-exposure this model treats as a lagging risk input.

Against average income of $68,782, annual rent is only 15%, a wide affordability cushion. 44% of occupied units are renter-occupied.

For a specific building, read the per-tract breakdown below rather than the 4.6 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

4.6

Moderate

3 tracts · population-weighted

Goose Island vs Wilkes-Barre How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average

% of income on rent

39.3% +28%

Wilkes-Barre: 30.7%

Average gross rent

$857 -9%

Wilkes-Barre: $946

Average HH income

$68,782 +43%

Wilkes-Barre: $47,970

Poverty rate

16.8% -21%

Wilkes-Barre: 21.1%

Renter share

43.8% -10%

Wilkes-Barre: 48.8%

Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Goose Island and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 3 tracts span score 3.5–5.3

Why Goose Island scores 4.6

9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly

State political climate

legislature & governorship · Range 3.4–3.4 across tracts

3.4

Regional political climate

County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 4.3–4.3 across tracts

4.3

Local political climate

Parent city governance · Range 3.4–4.9 across tracts

4.3

Rent control risk

39% of income on rent · Range 3.4–6.4 across tracts

5.2

Eviction process difficulty

State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 3.5–5.0 across tracts

4.1

Tenant organizing strength

44% renter households · Range 4.0–9.2 across tracts

7.2

Housing court bias

County bench composition · Range 5.0–7.2 across tracts

6.4

Economic stress

16.8% below poverty line · Range 3.3–5.3 across tracts

4.2

Supply constraint

Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.0–4.9 across tracts

3.3

Risk score comparison

Goose Island vs. parent city, state, U.S.

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Variance across tracts

How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Goose Island?

Left: distribution of constituent tract scores. Right: every tract as a heat square. Click any square to drill in.

Score distribution

0246810

Spread of 1.8 points from 3.5 to 5.3. Moderate variation across constituent tracts.

Tracts as heat grid

5.3 5.1 3.5

Each square = one census tract. Color tracks the same green→red ramp as the chloropleth map above.

Census tracts

3 tracts in Goose Island

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

Tract↕	Score↕	Pop↕	% over 30% on rent↕	Average rent↕
42079200200	5.3	3,823	55%	$1,065
42079200400	5.1	2,857	41%	$1,110
42079214600	3.5	4,191	23%	$495

Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 78

Pop-weighted across 3 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 66%ile

Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden

Household characteristics 88%ile

Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+

Racial/ethnic minority 60%ile

Hispanic + non-white share of population

Housing & transport 73%ile

Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle

Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab

Court-record eviction history in Goose Island

Aggregated across 3 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

568Total filings (sum)
4.68%Avg annual filing rate
9.6%Peak year (2005)
6.85%Latest filed (2006)

Frequently asked

About Goose Island

What is the eviction-risk score for Goose Island?

Goose Island scores 4.6/10 (Moderate tier) across 3 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.

How does Goose Island compare to Wilkes-Barre overall?

Goose Island scores 0.2 points lower than Wilkes-Barre overall (4.8/10). Renters spend 39% of income on rent vs 31% citywide. Average rent: $857 vs $946.

What is the average rent in Goose Island?

Average gross rent in Goose Island is $857/month (pop-weighted across 3 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 39% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What percentage of Goose Island residents are renters?

44% of Goose Island households are renter-occupied (vs 49% in Wilkes-Barre). The neighborhood has 10,871 residents.

Is Goose Island a high social-vulnerability area?

Goose Island sits in the 78th 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.

Which tracts in Goose Island have the highest eviction risk?

The highest-risk constituent tract in Goose Island is census tract 42079200200 (score 5.3/10). Across the 3 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 3.5 to 5.3, a spread of 1.8 points.

How safe is Goose Island for landlords?

Goose Island carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (4.6/10). Pop-weighted across 3 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Wilkes-Barre as a whole (4.8/10), this neighborhood is in line with the citywide level.

What is the demographic breakdown of Goose Island?

Goose Island has 10,826 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (55.7%), Hispanic / Latino (34.5%), Black (non-Hispanic) (5.5%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.

Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Goose Island

5.2 Iona 4 tracts · pop 7,565 5.2 Rolling Mill Hill 4 tracts · pop 11,515 6.1 Mayflower 3 tracts · pop 11,014 5.2 North End 6 tracts · pop 13,250 4.9 East End 4 tracts · pop 9,160 4.2 Miners Mills 2 tracts · pop 8,980

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Wilkes-Barre

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Goose Island.

4.8 East End 4 tracts · pop 9,160 5.1 Rolling Mill Hill 4 tracts · pop 11,515 6.1 Mayflower 3 tracts · pop 11,014 6.2 Parsons 1 tracts · pop 2,453

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