Within neighborhood
50
th percentile
Moderate
Neighborhood · Ranked #60,063 of 84,120 nationally
Meridian Highlands Eviction Risk: Lower , Indianapolis
Tract 18097351600 · Marion County, IN · pop 2,589 · neighborhood within 0.2 mi
For landlords sizing up the Meridian Highlands area of Indianapolis city (balance), census tract 18097351600 carries a moderate eviction-risk score of 4.9/10. That is riskier than about 35% of US census tracts.
29% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a moderate level, and 13% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $1,430 a month while the average household earns $109,745 a year, roughly 16% of income at the averages. About 40% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
Risk score
2.9
Lower
Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 12%
Stable renters 28%
Owners 60%
Tract context
Occupied units1,250
Renter share39.7%
SVI overall0.07
Poverty rate9.4%
Median income$109,745
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
15
th percentile
Very Low
Within county
18
th percentile
Very Low
Within state
35
th percentile
Low
Geographic context
Risk heat across Indianapolis and the region
Centroid at 39.7995, -86.1567 · click any tract to drill in
Why Meridian Highlands scores 2.9
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
9.4% poverty · this tract
2.4
Supply constraint
$1,430 rent vs county FMR
6.1
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 Highlands compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 7
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 22%Socioeconomic
- 1%Household composition
- 44%Racial/ethnic minority
- 32%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
- 70%Grade C
- 19%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)
- 173Total filings 2020-21
- 2.3Avg monthly (observed)
- 5.1Pre-pandemic baseline
- 0.45×Ratio to baseline
Pandemic filings ran far below baseline (moratorium effect). Eviction Lab tracked Indianapolis, IN as part of its 34-metro Eviction Tracking System.
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.
- 7.0%Housing insecurity
- 5.6%Utility-shutoff threat
- 7.2%Food insecurity
- 3.5%SNAP enrollment
- 4.8%Transit barriers
- 4.8%No health insurance
- 14.1%Frequent mental distress
- 17.6%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Meridian Highlands
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 below the Marion County average of 5.4 and in line with the Indiana statewide average of 4.7. Within its own county it reads on the safer side for landlords.
Part of this tract, about 19% of its area, sat in the redlined grade-D zone on 1930s HOLC maps, though its dominant grade was C ("Declining"). That lending history still correlates with present-day rent burden.
During 2020 and 2021, eviction filings here ran at about 0.45x the pre-COVID monthly baseline, well below the pre-pandemic norm, the signature of an eviction moratorium at work.
For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.
Frequently asked
About tract 18097351600
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18097351600?
Census tract 18097351600 in the Meridian Highlands neighborhood scores 2.9/10 (Lower 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 18097351600?
Median gross rent is $1,430/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 29% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 18097351600?
9.4% of residents in tract 18097351600 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,589.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 18097351600?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 7th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 22th, household 1th, minority 44th, housing 32th.
Q5
Is tract 18097351600 considered part of Meridian Highlands?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18097351600 fall within Meridian Highlands (neighborhood centroid within 0.2 miles, OSM data).
Q6
Did eviction filings in tract 18097351600 drop during COVID?
Pandemic-era filings ran 0.45× the pre-COVID monthly baseline. Filings dropped sharply, likely a moratorium effect. Tracked by the Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Indianapolis eviction risk, IN), 2020-2021.
Q7
What share of households in tract 18097351600 struggle to pay rent?
About 7.0% 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. 5.6% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 18097351600 compare to Indianapolis overall?
Tract 18097351600 scores 2.9/10, right in line with 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 18097351600 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. 19% 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
Friends and Neighbors
5.8
/ 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
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