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Neighborhood · Ranked #42,763 of 84,120 nationally

Highland Park Eviction Risk: Lower , Des Moines

Tract 19153000500 · Polk County, IA · pop 4,725 · neighborhood within 0.4 mi

The Moderate-tier score of 4.9/10 for census tract 19153000500 reflects conditions in the Highland Park neighborhood of Des Moines, Iowa. That is riskier than roughly 35% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.

Rent eats 30% or more of income for 47% of renter households, a severe level, and 8% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $1,206 a month while the average household earns $54,032 a year, roughly 27% of income at the averages. Renters make up 31% of occupied homes.

Risk score
3.9
Lower
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 14% Stable renters 16% Owners 70%
Tract context
Occupied units1,826
Renter share30.9%
SVI overall0.69
Poverty rate9.1%
Median income$54,032

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within neighborhood
0 th percentile
Rank, 0th percentileLowHigh
#2 of 2 tracts In Highland Park
Very Low
Within parent city
39 th percentile
Rank, 39th percentileLowHigh
#37 of 60 tracts In Des Moines
Low
Within county
67 th percentile
Rank, 67th percentileLowHigh
#38 of 112 tracts In Polk County
Elevated
Within state
74 th percentile
Rank, 74th percentileLowHigh
#237 of 896 tracts In Iowa
Elevated
Geographic context

Risk heat across Des Moines and the region

Centroid at 41.6232, -93.6126 · click any tract to drill in

Why Highland Park scores 3.9

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly
Local political climate
Inherited from Des Moines
4.5
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
5.8
State political climate
Iowa legislature & governorship
2.3
Economic stress
9.1% poverty · this tract
2.3
Supply constraint
$1,206 rent vs county FMR
4.9
Rent control risk
Inherited from Des Moines
1.0
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
2.5
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Des Moines
3.0
Housing court bias
Inherited from Des Moines
2.5

How Highland Park compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
Highland Park risk score vs. parent city / county / stateThis tract: 3.93.9This tracttract 000500Des Moines: 2.62.6Des Moinesparent cityCounty: 3.23.2Countyavg tract in countyState: 3.33.3Stateavg tract in state
CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 69

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

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.

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

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

  • 478Total filings over 10 yrs
  • 11.78%Avg annual filing rate
  • 19.9%Peak (2015)
  • 81Filings in 2015 (latest validated)
Filings by year 2006 to 2015
Year-by-year eviction filings in tract 191530005002006: 42 filings (10.45/100 renter HHs)2007: 44 filings (10.95/100 renter HHs)2008: 36 filings (8.96/100 renter HHs)2009: 39 filings (9.70/100 renter HHs)2010: 34 filings (8.25/100 renter HHs)2011: 31 filings (7.62/100 renter HHs)2012: 47 filings (11.55/100 renter HHs)2013: 55 filings (13.51/100 renter HHs)2014: 69 filings (16.95/100 renter HHs)2015: 81 filings (19.90/100 renter HHs)
Filings climbed 93% over the past 10 months.
Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Within Highland 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.

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Highland Park

The heaviest input here is supply constraint at 4.9/10. 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 Des Moines 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 Polk County average of 5.0 and above the Iowa statewide average of 4.3. Within its own county it reads on the safer side for landlords.

Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 478 eviction filings here over 10 tracked years, with about 11.8% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 19.9% of renter households in 2015.

Part of this tract, about 17% 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, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.

Frequently asked

About tract 19153000500

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 19153000500?

Census tract 19153000500 in the Highland Park neighborhood scores 3.9/10 (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 19153000500?

Median gross rent is $1,206/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 47% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3

What is the poverty rate in tract 19153000500?

9.1% of residents in tract 19153000500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 4,725.
Q4

How socially vulnerable is tract 19153000500?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 69th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 85th, household 49th, minority 49th, housing 48th.
Q5

Is tract 19153000500 considered part of Highland Park?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 19153000500 fall within Highland Park (neighborhood centroid within 0.4 miles, OSM data).
Q6

How many evictions are filed each year in tract 19153000500?

Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 478 eviction filings across 10 validated years in tract 19153000500 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 11.78% of renter households, peaking at 19.9% in 2015. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7

What share of households in tract 19153000500 struggle to pay rent?

About 17.8% 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. 11.8% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8

How does tract 19153000500 compare to Des Moines overall?

Tract 19153000500 scores 3.9/10, higher than the parent city of Des Moines at 2.6/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Des Moines eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q9

Was tract 19153000500 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. 17% 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 Des Moines

Top eight tracts in Des Moines ranked by composite eviction-risk score.

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