Neighborhood · Ranked #14,316 of 84,120 nationally
Meridian Park Eviction Risk: Moderate , Indianapolis
Tract 18097351000 ·
Marion County, IN · pop 2,415 · neighborhood within 0.3 mi
How risky is the Meridian Park area of Indianapolis city (balance) for landlords? Census tract 18097351000 scores 6.1/10, the Elevated tier. That is riskier than roughly 78% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.
Rent eats 30% or more of income for 46% of renter households, a severe level, and 18% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is about $1,234 a month. Renters make up 39% of occupied homes.
Risk score
5.8
Moderate
Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 18%Stable renters 21%Owners 61%
Tract context
Occupied units945
Renter share38.8%
SVI overall0.78
Poverty rate34.9%
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within neighborhood
100th percentile
#1 of 2 tracts In Meridian Park
Very High
Within parent city
99th percentile
#4 of 231 tracts In Indianapolis
Very High
Within county
98th percentile
#7 of 253 tracts In Marion County
Very High
Within state
98th percentile
#41 of 1,693 tracts In Indiana
Very High
Geographic context
Risk heat across Indianapolis and the region
Centroid at 39.8136, -86.1577 · click any tract to drill in
Why Meridian Park scores 5.8
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly
Local 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
34.9% poverty · this tract
8.7
Supply constraint
$1,234 rent vs county FMR
4.6
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 Meridian Park compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 78
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
83%Socioeconomic
59%Household composition
64%Racial/ethnic minority
69%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
45%Grade B
43%Grade C
12%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)
461Total filings 2020-21
6.0Avg monthly (observed)
6.6Pre-pandemic baseline
0.91×Ratio to baseline
Monthly filings 2020–20212020-01-01 to 2026-05-01
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 Meridian Park. Closest by Eviction Risk Score.
Crude prevalence of conditions linked to housing loss. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh), 2023 model-based small-area estimates.
20.5%Housing insecurity
18.6%Utility-shutoff threat
28.2%Food insecurity
22.5%SNAP enrollment
14.5%Transit barriers
10.8%No health insurance
19.8%Frequent mental distress
34.5%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Meridian Park
The heaviest input here is economic stress at 8.7/10. 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 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.
During 2020 and 2021, eviction filings here ran at about 0.91x the pre-COVID monthly baseline, a little under the pre-pandemic norm.
Part of this tract, about 12% 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 18097351000
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18097351000?
Census tract 18097351000 in the Meridian Park neighborhood scores 5.8/10 (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 18097351000?
Median gross rent is $1,234/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 46% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 18097351000?
34.9% of residents in tract 18097351000 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,415.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 18097351000?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 78th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 83th, household 59th, minority 64th, housing 69th.
Q5
Is tract 18097351000 considered part of Meridian Park?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18097351000 fall within Meridian Park (neighborhood centroid within 0.3 miles, OSM data).
Q6
Did eviction filings in tract 18097351000 drop during COVID?
Pandemic-era filings ran 0.91× 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 18097351000 struggle to pay rent?
About 20.5% 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. 18.6% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 18097351000 compare to Indianapolis overall?
Tract 18097351000 scores 5.8/10, 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 18097351000 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. 12% 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.