Neighborhood · Ranked #11,930 of 84,120 nationally

"Cheese Box" Eviction Risk: Elevated , Muncie

Tract 18035001000 · Delaware County, IN · pop 5,771 · neighborhood within 1.4 mi

In the "Cheese Box" neighborhood of Muncie, census tract 18035001000 scores 6.3/10 for eviction risk. That is riskier than about 83% of US census tracts.

Rent eats 30% or more of income for 59% of renter households, a severe level, and 43% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $1,021 monthly, set against $33,500 in average yearly household income, roughly 37% of income at the averages. Renters make up 81% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score

Elevated

Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 48% Stable renters 33% Owners 19%

Tract context

Occupied units2,072

Renter share81.1%

SVI overall0.67

Poverty rate56.1%

Median income$33,500

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Muncie and the region

Centroid at 40.2109, -85.4039 · click any tract to drill in

Why "Cheese Box" scores 6

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Muncie

4.9

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

4.3

State political climate

Indiana legislature & governorship

2.0

Economic stress

56.1% poverty · this tract

10.0

Supply constraint

$1,021 rent vs county FMR

5.4

Rent control risk

Inherited from Muncie

7.4

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

1.5

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Muncie

9.0

Housing court bias

Inherited from Muncie

8.3

How "Cheese Box" compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 67

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

91%Socioeconomic
3%Household composition
38%Racial/ethnic minority
84%Housing & transportation

Historical context · 1930s redlining

HOLC grade: B: Still Desirable

This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade B meant middle-class areas with mortgage access. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.

0%Grade A
18%Grade B
6%Grade C
13%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 "Cheese Box". 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.

17.6%Housing insecurity
14.6%Utility-shutoff threat
28.3%Food insecurity
20.3%SNAP enrollment
18.0%Transit barriers
10.4%No health insurance
29.1%Frequent mental distress
39.8%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in "Cheese Box"

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 Muncie eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Delaware County average of 5.1 and above the Indiana statewide average of 4.7. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

In CDC survey modeling, about 17.6% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 14.6% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

Part of this tract, about 13% of its area, sat in the redlined grade-D zone on 1930s HOLC maps, though its dominant grade was B ("Still Desirable"). That lending history still correlates with present-day rent burden.

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 18035001000

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18035001000?

Census tract 18035001000 in the "Cheese Box" neighborhood scores 6/10 (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 18035001000?

Median gross rent is $1,021/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 59% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 18035001000?

56.1% of residents in tract 18035001000 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 5,771.

How socially vulnerable is tract 18035001000?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 67th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 91th, household 3th, minority 38th, housing 84th.

Is tract 18035001000 considered part of "Cheese Box"?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18035001000 fall within "Cheese Box" (neighborhood centroid within 1.4 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 18035001000 struggle to pay rent?

About 17.6% 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. 14.6% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 18035001000 compare to Muncie overall?

Tract 18035001000 scores 6/10, higher than the parent city of Muncie at 2.8/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Muncie eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 18035001000 historically redlined?

Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of B. 13% 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 Muncie

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