Neighborhood · Ranked #15,522 of 84,120 nationally
University Heights Eviction Risk: Moderate , Indianapolis
Tract 18097380502 ·
Marion County, IN · pop 3,975 · neighborhood within 0.5 mi
Tract 18097380502, home to 3,975 residents in University Heights in Indianapolis city (balance), scores 6.1/10 for landlord eviction risk. That is riskier than roughly 78% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.
About 58% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a severe level, and 26% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $973 a month while the average household earns $40,724 a year, roughly 29% of income at the averages. Renters make up 67% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
5.7
Moderate
Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 39%Stable renters 28%Owners 33%
Tract context
Occupied units1,589
Renter share67.1%
SVI overall0.82
Poverty rate31.8%
Median income$40,724
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within neighborhood
100th percentile
#1 of 7 tracts In University Heights
Very High
Within parent city
93th percentile
#17 of 231 tracts In Indianapolis
Very High
Within county
96th percentile
#10 of 253 tracts In Marion County
Very High
Within state
96th percentile
#62 of 1,693 tracts In Indiana
Very High
Geographic context
Risk heat across Indianapolis and the region
Centroid at 39.7044, -86.1255 · click any tract to drill in
Why University Heights scores 5.7
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
31.8% poverty · this tract
8.0
Supply constraint
$973 rent vs county FMR
2.6
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 University Heights compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 82
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
87%Socioeconomic
36%Household composition
58%Racial/ethnic minority
88%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
39%Grade B
56%Grade C
0%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)
1,448Total filings 2020-21
18.8Avg monthly (observed)
14.6Pre-pandemic baseline
1.29×Ratio to baseline
Monthly filings 2020–20212020-01-01 to 2026-05-01
Pandemic filings ran near baseline. Eviction Lab tracked Indianapolis, IN as part of its 34-metro Eviction Tracking System.
Comparable tracts
Census tracts with similar eviction risk
Within University Heights. 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
17.0%Utility-shutoff threat
31.2%Food insecurity
23.0%SNAP enrollment
16.9%Transit barriers
15.0%No health insurance
24.9%Frequent mental distress
38.2%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in University Heights
The heaviest input here 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.
HOLC surveyors mapped this tract in the 1930s with a dominant grade of C ("Declining"), above the redlined D tier. The grading still shaped decades of lending and development in the surrounding area.
The tract is White and Black and ranks around the 82nd 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.
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 18097380502
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 18097380502?
Census tract 18097380502 in the University Heights neighborhood scores 5.7/10 (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 18097380502?
Median gross rent is $973/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 58% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 18097380502?
31.8% of residents in tract 18097380502 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,975.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 18097380502?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 82th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 87th, household 36th, minority 58th, housing 88th.
Q5
Is tract 18097380502 considered part of University Heights?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 18097380502 fall within University Heights (neighborhood centroid within 0.5 miles, OSM data).
Q6
Did eviction filings in tract 18097380502 drop during COVID?
Pandemic-era filings ran 1.29× the pre-COVID monthly baseline. Filings returned near baseline. Tracked by the Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Indianapolis eviction risk, IN), 2020-2021.
Q7
What share of households in tract 18097380502 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. 17.0% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 18097380502 compare to Indianapolis overall?
Tract 18097380502 scores 5.7/10, 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 18097380502 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. 0% 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.