Skip to content
Neighborhood · Ranked #10,885 of 84,120 nationally

University Park Eviction Risk: Elevated , Gary

Tract 18089012400 · Lake County, IN · pop 3,945 · neighborhood within 0.5 mi

In University Park in Gary, census tract 18089012400 scores 6.1/10 for eviction risk. It lands near the 78th percentile nationally for landlord eviction risk.

About 36% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a high level, and 22% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $975 a month against an average household income of $30,865 a year, roughly 38% of income at the averages. About 56% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score
6.1
Elevated
Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 20% Stable renters 36% Owners 44%
Tract context
Occupied units1,656
Renter share56.2%
SVI overall0.93
Poverty rate46.5%
Median income$30,865

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within neighborhood
100 th percentile
Rank, 100th percentileLowHigh
#1 of 4 tracts In University Park
Very High
Within parent city
97 th percentile
Rank, 97th percentileLowHigh
#2 of 33 tracts In Gary
Very High
Within county
100 th percentile
Rank, 100th percentileLowHigh
#1 of 131 tracts In Lake County
Very High
Within state
100 th percentile
Rank, 100th percentileLowHigh
#8 of 1,693 tracts In Indiana
Very High
Geographic context

Risk heat across Gary and the region

Centroid at 41.5572, -87.3455 · click any tract to drill in

Why University Park scores 6.1

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
46.5% poverty · this tract
10.0
Supply constraint
$975 rent vs county FMR
3.1
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 University Park compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
University Park risk score vs. parent city / county / stateThis tract: 6.16.1This tracttract 012400Gary: 3.13.1Garyparent cityCounty: 3.93.9Countyavg tract in countyState: 3.63.6Stateavg tract in state
CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 93

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

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.

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 University Park. 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.

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in University Park

The heaviest input here 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 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.

The tract is predominantly Black and ranks around the 93rd 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.

In CDC survey modeling, about 35.4% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 34.3% 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 18089012400

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18089012400?

Census tract 18089012400 in the University Park neighborhood scores 6.1/10 (Elevated tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.
Q2

What is the average rent in tract 18089012400?

Median gross rent is $975/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 36% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3

What is the poverty rate in tract 18089012400?

46.5% of residents in tract 18089012400 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,945.
Q4

How socially vulnerable is tract 18089012400?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 93th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 94th, household 87th, minority 96th, housing 69th.
Q5

Is tract 18089012400 considered part of University Park?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18089012400 fall within University Park (neighborhood centroid within 0.5 miles, OSM data).
Q6

What share of households in tract 18089012400 struggle to pay rent?

About 35.4% 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. 34.3% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q7

How does tract 18089012400 compare to Gary overall?

Tract 18089012400 scores 6.1/10, 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.
Q8

Was tract 18089012400 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. 3% 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.

Related