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Census Tract · Ranked #14,316 of 84,120 nationally

Lake Wales Eviction Risk: Moderate

Tract 12105015500 · Polk, FL · pop 4,378 · 80% of tract blocks fall in Lake Wales

Census tract 12105015500 sits in Lake Wales, Florida eviction laws, and carries an eviction-risk score of 6.4/10. It lands near the 85th percentile nationally for landlord eviction risk.

Rent eats 30% or more of income for 51% of renter households, a severe level, and 27% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $943 monthly, set against $36,555 in average yearly household income, roughly 31% of income at the averages. Renters make up 57% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score
5.8
Moderate
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 29% Stable renters 28% Owners 43%
Tract context
Occupied units1,813
Renter share56.9%
SVI overall0.96
Poverty rate33.7%
Median income$36,555

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within parent city
100 th percentile
Rank, 100th percentileLowHigh
#1 of 8 tracts In Lake Wales
Very High
Within county
99 th percentile
Rank, 99th percentileLowHigh
#2 of 174 tracts In Polk
Very High
Within state
97 th percentile
Rank, 97th percentileLowHigh
#175 of 5,122 tracts In Florida
Very High
National
83 th percentile
Rank, 83rd percentileLowHigh
#14,316 of 84,120 tracts In U.S.
High
Geographic context

Risk heat across Lake Wales and the region

Centroid at 27.8848, -81.5788 · click any tract to drill in

Why Lake Wales scores 5.8

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly
Local political climate
Inherited from Lake Wales
4.9
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
4.3
State political climate
Florida legislature & governorship
1.5
Economic stress
33.7% poverty · this tract
8.4
Supply constraint
$943 rent vs county FMR
2.1
Rent control risk
Inherited from Lake Wales
9.3
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
1.7
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Lake Wales
8.0
Housing court bias
Inherited from Lake Wales
8.9

How Lake Wales compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
Lake Wales risk score vs. parent city / county / stateThis tract: 5.85.8This tracttract 015500Lake Wales: 2.62.6Lake Walesparent cityCounty: 3.93.9Countyavg tract in countyState: 3.53.5Stateavg tract in state
CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 96

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

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)

  • 726Total filings over 17 yrs
  • 4.84%Avg annual filing rate
  • 6.3%Peak (2008)
  • 28Filings in 2017 (latest validated)
Filings by year 2000 to 2017
Year-by-year eviction filings in tract 121050155002000: 46 filings (5.62/100 renter HHs)2001: 43 filings (5.26/100 renter HHs)2002: 40 filings (4.89/100 renter HHs)2003: 33 filings (4.03/100 renter HHs)2004: 30 filings (3.67/100 renter HHs)2005: 37 filings (4.24/100 renter HHs)2007: 49 filings (5.61/100 renter HHs)2008: 55 filings (6.30/100 renter HHs)2009: 49 filings (5.61/100 renter HHs)2010: 39 filings (4.42/100 renter HHs)2011: 39 filings (4.02/100 renter HHs)2012: 48 filings (4.95/100 renter HHs)2013: 43 filings (4.44/100 renter HHs)2014: 43 filings (4.44/100 renter HHs)2015: 52 filings (5.37/100 renter HHs)2016: 52 filings (6.13/100 renter HHs)2017: 28 filings (3.30/100 renter HHs)
Filings dropped 39% over the past 17 months.
Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Lake Wales

What moves this score most is rent-control risk at 9.3/10. 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 Lake Wales, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Polk County average of 5.0 and above the Florida statewide average of 4.9. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 726 eviction filings here over 17 tracked years, with about 4.8% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 6.3% of renter households in 2008.

The tract is White and Hispanic or Latino and ranks around the 96th 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 12105015500

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 12105015500?

Census tract 12105015500 in Lake Wales scores 5.8/10 (Moderate 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 12105015500?

Median gross rent is $943/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 51% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3

What is the poverty rate in tract 12105015500?

33.7% of residents in tract 12105015500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 4,378.
Q4

How socially vulnerable is tract 12105015500?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 96th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 87th, household 98th, minority 70th, housing 89th.
Q5

How many evictions are filed each year in tract 12105015500?

Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 726 eviction filings across 17 validated years in tract 12105015500 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 4.84% of renter households, peaking at 6.3% in 2008. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q6

How does tract 12105015500 compare to Lake Wales overall?

Tract 12105015500 scores 5.8/10, higher than the parent city of Lake Wales at 2.6/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Lake Wales; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Sibling tracts

Highest-risk tracts in Lake Wales

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

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