Neighborhood · Ranked #26,446 of 84,120 nationally

North Highland Square Eviction Risk: Moderate , Rockford

Tract 17201001500 · Winnebago County, IL · pop 5,280 · neighborhood within 1.2 mi

In the North Highland Square area of Rockford, census tract 17201001500 scores 4.9/10 for eviction risk. That is riskier than about 36% of US census tracts.

50% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a severe level, and 32% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $849 a month against an average household income of $47,420 a year, roughly 21% of income at the averages. Renters make up 37% of occupied homes.

Risk score

4.9

Moderate

Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 18% Stable renters 18% Owners 64%

Tract context

Occupied units2,253

Renter share36.8%

SVI overall0.76

Poverty rate15.5%

Median income$47,420

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Rockford and the region

Centroid at 42.2594, -89.0439 · click any tract to drill in

Why North Highland Square scores 4.9

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Rockford

4.5

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

5.1

State political climate

Illinois legislature & governorship

5.2

Economic stress

15.5% poverty · this tract

3.9

Supply constraint

$849 rent vs county FMR

2.2

Rent control risk

Inherited from Rockford

2.0

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

3.5

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Rockford

3.0

Housing court bias

Inherited from Rockford

3.5

How North Highland Square compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 76

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

61%Socioeconomic
99%Household composition
60%Racial/ethnic minority
42%Housing & transportation

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.

1%Grade A
1%Grade B
62%Grade C
1%Grade D · redlined

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.

Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Within North Highland Square. 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.

17.5%Housing insecurity
10.7%Utility-shutoff threat
22.2%Food insecurity
20.8%SNAP enrollment
11.0%Transit barriers
13.7%No health insurance
18.8%Frequent mental distress
35.2%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in North Highland Square

What moves this score most is economic stress at 3.9/10. 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 Rockford eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores about the same as the Winnebago County average of 5.0 and below the Illinois statewide average of 5.4. Within its own county it reads on the safer side for landlords.

In CDC survey modeling, about 17.5% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 10.7% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

The tract is White and Hispanic or Latino and ranks around the 76th 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, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.

Frequently asked

About tract 17201001500

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 17201001500?

Census tract 17201001500 in the North Highland Square neighborhood scores 4.9/10 (Moderate tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.

What is the average rent in tract 17201001500?

Median gross rent is $849/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 50% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 17201001500?

15.5% of residents in tract 17201001500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 5,280.

How socially vulnerable is tract 17201001500?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 76th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 61th, household 99th, minority 60th, housing 42th.

Is tract 17201001500 considered part of North Highland Square?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 17201001500 fall within North Highland Square (neighborhood centroid within 1.2 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 17201001500 struggle to pay rent?

About 17.5% 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. 10.7% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 17201001500 compare to Rockford overall?

Tract 17201001500 scores 4.9/10, higher than the parent city of Rockford at 4.2/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Rockford eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 17201001500 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. 1% 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 Rockford

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