Neighborhood · Ranked #7,456 of 84,120 nationally

The Mesa Eviction Risk: Elevated , Santa Barbara

Tract 06083001203 · Santa Barbara, CA · pop 3,535 · neighborhood within 0.5 mi

Landlord eviction risk in census tract 06083001203 (The Mesa in Santa Barbara, California) comes in at 6.1/10, the Elevated tier. That is riskier than about 79% of US census tracts.

About 50% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a severe level, and 31% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $2,662 monthly, set against $115,192 in average yearly household income, roughly 28% of income at the averages. Renters make up 52% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score

6.5

Elevated

Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 26% Stable renters 26% Owners 48%

Tract context

Occupied units1,444

Renter share52.1%

SVI overall0.63

Poverty rate19.3%

Median income$115,192

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Santa Barbara and the region

Centroid at 34.4075, -119.7145 · click any tract to drill in

Why The Mesa scores 6.5

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Santa Barbara

6.9

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

6.6

State political climate

California legislature & governorship

6.8

Economic stress

19.3% poverty · this tract

4.8

Supply constraint

$2,662 rent vs county FMR

3.8

Rent control risk

Inherited from Santa Barbara

7.7

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

6.7

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Santa Barbara

9.6

Housing court bias

Inherited from Santa Barbara

7.0

How The Mesa compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 63

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

64%Socioeconomic
51%Household composition
43%Racial/ethnic minority
65%Housing & transportation

Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Within The Mesa. Closest by Eviction Risk Score.

CDC PLACES 2023 · health & economic stress

Eviction-adjacent indicators

Crude prevalence of conditions linked to housing loss. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh), 2023 model-based small-area estimates.

9.8%Housing insecurity
5.9%Utility-shutoff threat
12.0%Food insecurity
11.6%SNAP enrollment
7.4%Transit barriers
6.3%No health insurance
16.5%Frequent mental distress
31.0%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in The Mesa

The heaviest input here is tenant organizing strength at 9.6/10. That part comes from the wider legal climate rather than the tract itself. Statewide and court-level factors such as eviction-process speed and rent-control exposure are inherited from Santa Barbara, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Santa Barbara County average of 5.5 and in line with the California statewide average of 6.1. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

The tract is predominantly White and ranks around the 63rd percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. That is a middle-of-the-pack reading for social vulnerability.

In CDC survey modeling, about 9.8% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 5.9% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

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 06083001203

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 06083001203?

Census tract 06083001203 in the The Mesa neighborhood scores 6.5/10 (Elevated tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.

What is the average rent in tract 06083001203?

Median gross rent is $2,662/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 50% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 06083001203?

19.3% of residents in tract 06083001203 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,535.

How socially vulnerable is tract 06083001203?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 63th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 64th, household 51th, minority 43th, housing 65th.

Is tract 06083001203 considered part of The Mesa?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 06083001203 fall within The Mesa (neighborhood centroid within 0.5 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 06083001203 struggle to pay rent?

About 9.8% of adults in this tract reported housing insecurity (could not pay rent or mortgage in the past 12 months), per the CDC PLACES 2023 model-based small-area estimate. 5.9% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 06083001203 compare to Santa Barbara overall?

Tract 06083001203 scores 6.5/10, lower than the parent city of Santa Barbara at 8.1/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Santa Barbara; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Sibling tracts

Highest-risk tracts in Santa Barbara

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