Neighborhood · Ranked #18,240 of 84,120 nationally

Downtown Gary Eviction Risk: Moderate

Tract 18089010500 · Lake County, IN · pop 780 · neighborhood within 0.3 mi

Tract 18089010500, home to 780 residents in Downtown Gary in Gary, scores 6.5/10 for landlord eviction risk. On the national scale it ranks #10,827 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty.

68% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a severe level, and 29% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $871 a month against an average household income of $28,125 a year, roughly 37% of income at the averages. Renters make up 66% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score

5.5

Moderate

Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 45% Stable renters 21% Owners 34%

Tract context

Occupied units305

Renter share66.2%

SVI overall0.89

Poverty rate50.6%

Median income$28,125

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Gary and the region

Centroid at 41.5990, -87.3321 · click any tract to drill in

Why Downtown Gary scores 5.5

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Gary

6.2

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

5.8

State political climate

Indiana legislature & governorship

2.0

Economic stress

50.6% poverty · this tract

10.0

Supply constraint

$871 rent vs county FMR

2.3

Rent control risk

Inherited from Gary

8.2

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

2.3

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Gary

9.3

Housing court bias

Inherited from Gary

8.7

How Downtown Gary compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 89

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

96%Socioeconomic
72%Household composition
96%Racial/ethnic minority
57%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.

0%Grade A
0%Grade B
74%Grade C
0%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 Downtown Gary. 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.

35.3%Housing insecurity
32.8%Utility-shutoff threat
51.5%Food insecurity
46.7%SNAP enrollment
24.3%Transit barriers
14.0%No health insurance
23.0%Frequent mental distress
45.3%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Downtown Gary

The score leans hardest on 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 Gary eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Lake County average of 5.2 and above the Indiana statewide average of 4.7. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

HOLC surveyors mapped this tract in the 1930s with a dominant grade of C ("Declining"), above the redlined D tier. The grading still shaped decades of lending and development in the surrounding area.

The tract is predominantly Black and ranks around the 89th 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 18089010500

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18089010500?

Census tract 18089010500 in the Downtown Gary neighborhood scores 5.5/10 (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 18089010500?

Median gross rent is $871/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 68% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 18089010500?

50.6% of residents in tract 18089010500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 780.

How socially vulnerable is tract 18089010500?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 89th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 96th, household 72th, minority 96th, housing 57th.

Is tract 18089010500 considered part of Downtown Gary?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18089010500 fall within Downtown Gary (neighborhood centroid within 0.3 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 18089010500 struggle to pay rent?

About 35.3% 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. 32.8% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 18089010500 compare to Gary overall?

Tract 18089010500 scores 5.5/10, higher than the parent city of Gary at 3.1/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Gary eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 18089010500 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. 0% 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 Gary

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