Within neighborhood
100
th percentile
Very High
Neighborhood · Ranked #18,240 of 84,120 nationally
Watson Park Eviction Risk: Moderate , Indianapolis
Tract 18097350500 · Marion County, IN · pop 2,384 · neighborhood within 1.1 mi
Here is how census tract 18097350500, in Watson Park in Indianapolis eviction risk city (balance), looks to a landlord: a $1/10 eviction-risk score (Elevated tier) across a population of 2,384. That is riskier than roughly 75% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.
55% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a severe level, and 45% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $961 a month while the average household earns $41,117 a year, roughly 28% of income at the averages. Renters make up 32% of occupied homes.
Risk score
5.5
Moderate
Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 18%
Stable renters 15%
Owners 67%
Tract context
Occupied units973
Renter share32.2%
SVI overall0.91
Poverty rate31.7%
Median income$41,117
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
88
th percentile
High
Within county
89
th percentile
High
Within state
92
th percentile
Very High
Geographic context
Risk heat across Indianapolis and the region
Centroid at 39.8215, -86.1234 · click any tract to drill in
Why Watson Park scores 5.5
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Indianapolis
6.8
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
6.5
State political climate
Indiana legislature & governorship
2.0
Economic stress
31.7% poverty · this tract
7.9
Supply constraint
$961 rent vs county FMR
2.5
Rent control risk
Inherited from Indianapolis
6.6
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
2.1
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Indianapolis
8.7
Housing court bias
Inherited from Indianapolis
6.8
How Watson Park compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 91
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 93%Socioeconomic
- 97%Household composition
- 90%Racial/ethnic minority
- 46%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
- 1%Grade B
- 96%Grade C
- 3%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.
Eviction filings
Court-record eviction history
Court-validated eviction filings collected from county clerks and consolidated by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households.1
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
- 432Total filings 2020-21
- 5.6Avg monthly (observed)
- 7.3Pre-pandemic baseline
- 0.77×Ratio to baseline
Pandemic filings ran below baseline. Eviction Lab tracked Indianapolis, IN as part of its 34-metro Eviction Tracking System.
Comparable tracts
Census tracts with similar eviction risk
Within Watson 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.
- 28.8%Housing insecurity
- 25.3%Utility-shutoff threat
- 39.2%Food insecurity
- 32.3%SNAP enrollment
- 19.1%Transit barriers
- 14.0%No health insurance
- 20.9%Frequent mental distress
- 41.0%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Watson Park
What moves this score most is tenant organizing strength at 8.7/10. 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 Indianapolis eviction risk city (balance), while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.
Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Marion County average of 5.4 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 91st 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.
During 2020 and 2021, eviction filings here ran at about 0.77x the pre-COVID monthly baseline, a little under the pre-pandemic norm.
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 18097350500
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18097350500?
Census tract 18097350500 in the Watson Park 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.
Q2
What is the average rent in tract 18097350500?
Median gross rent is $961/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 55% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 18097350500?
31.7% of residents in tract 18097350500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,384.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 18097350500?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 91th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 93th, household 97th, minority 90th, housing 46th.
Q5
Is tract 18097350500 considered part of Watson Park?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18097350500 fall within Watson Park (neighborhood centroid within 1.1 miles, OSM data).
Q6
Did eviction filings in tract 18097350500 drop during COVID?
Pandemic-era filings ran 0.77× the pre-COVID monthly baseline. Filings ran modestly below normal. Tracked by the Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Indianapolis eviction risk, IN), 2020-2021.
Q7
What share of households in tract 18097350500 struggle to pay rent?
About 28.8% 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. 25.3% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 18097350500 compare to Indianapolis overall?
Tract 18097350500 scores 5.5/10, higher than the parent city of Indianapolis at 2.7/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Indianapolis eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q9
Was tract 18097350500 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 Indianapolis
Top eight tracts in Indianapolis ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
Tract · IN
18097350600
6
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IN
Far Eastside
5.9
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IN
Christian Park
5.9
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IN
Meridian Park
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IN
18097360302
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IN
18097370203
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IN
Robson-Voorhees
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IN
Friends and Neighbors
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
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