Neighborhood · Ranked #31,159 of 84,120 nationally

Prairie Park Eviction Risk: Moderate , East Chicago

Tract 18089030900 · Lake County, IN · pop 3,374 · neighborhood within 0.1 mi

The Prairie Park area of East Chicago anchors census tract 18089030900, which lands at 5.4/10 on landlord eviction risk. That is riskier than roughly 54% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.

44% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a severe level, and 26% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $996 a month against an average household income of $51,445 a year, roughly 23% of income at the averages. Renters make up 44% of occupied homes.

Risk score

4.6

Moderate

Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 19% Stable renters 25% Owners 56%

Tract context

Occupied units1,447

Renter share43.9%

SVI overall0.73

Poverty rate17.1%

Median income$51,445

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across East Chicago and the region

Centroid at 41.6360, -87.4416 · click any tract to drill in

Why Prairie Park scores 4.6

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from East Chicago

6.2

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

5.8

State political climate

Indiana legislature & governorship

2.0

Economic stress

17.1% poverty · this tract

4.3

Supply constraint

$996 rent vs county FMR

3.3

Rent control risk

Inherited from East Chicago

5.5

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

1.9

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from East Chicago

9.5

Housing court bias

Inherited from East Chicago

7.2

How Prairie Park compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 73

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

72%Socioeconomic
80%Household composition
95%Racial/ethnic minority
40%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
19%Grade C
6%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.

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.

24.9%Housing insecurity
19.0%Utility-shutoff threat
35.8%Food insecurity
23.9%SNAP enrollment
15.9%Transit barriers
18.8%No health insurance
18.5%Frequent mental distress
38.8%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Prairie Park

The score leans hardest on tenant organizing strength at 9.5/10. 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 East Chicago 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 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.

In CDC survey modeling, about 24.9% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 19.0% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

The tract is Hispanic or Latino and Black and ranks around the 73rd percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. That is a middle-of-the-pack reading for social vulnerability.

For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.

Frequently asked

About tract 18089030900

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18089030900?

Census tract 18089030900 in the Prairie Park neighborhood scores 4.6/10 (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 18089030900?

Median gross rent is $996/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 44% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 18089030900?

17.1% of residents in tract 18089030900 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,374.

How socially vulnerable is tract 18089030900?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 73th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 72th, household 80th, minority 95th, housing 40th.

Is tract 18089030900 considered part of Prairie Park?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18089030900 fall within Prairie Park (neighborhood centroid within 0.1 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 18089030900 struggle to pay rent?

About 24.9% 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. 19.0% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 18089030900 compare to East Chicago overall?

Tract 18089030900 scores 4.6/10, higher than the parent city of East Chicago at 2.8/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from East Chicago eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 18089030900 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. 6% 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 East Chicago

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