Within neighborhood
50
th percentile
Moderate
Neighborhood · Ranked #28,017 of 84,120 nationally
Martin Luther King Jr. Park Eviction Risk: Moderate , Des Moines
Tract 19153001700 · Polk County, IA · pop 2,486 · neighborhood within 0.1 mi
Census tract 19153001700 sits in the Martin Luther King Jr. Park area of Des Moines eviction risk, Iowa eviction laws, and carries an eviction-risk score of 5.1/10. That is riskier than roughly 43% 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 17% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $893 monthly, set against $44,922 in average yearly household income, roughly 24% of income at the averages. About 29% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
Risk score
4.8
Moderate
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 13%
Stable renters 16%
Owners 71%
Tract context
Occupied units782
Renter share28.9%
SVI overall0.93
Poverty rate19.7%
Median income$44,922
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
81
th percentile
High
Within county
90
th percentile
Very High
Within state
90
th percentile
High
Geographic context
Risk heat across Des Moines and the region
Centroid at 41.6029, -93.5926 · click any tract to drill in
Why Martin Luther King Jr. Park scores 4.8
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal 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
19.7% poverty · this tract
4.9
Supply constraint
$893 rent vs county FMR
2.3
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 Martin Luther King Jr. Park compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 93
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 87%Socioeconomic
- 96%Household composition
- 84%Racial/ethnic minority
- 77%Housing & transportation
Historical context · 1930s redlining
HOLC grade: D: Hazardous (Redlined)
This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade D meant Black, immigrant, and poor neighborhoods systematically denied mortgage credit. 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
- 1%Grade C
- 98%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
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
- 312Total filings over 10 yrs
- 11.73%Avg annual filing rate
- 23.7%Peak (2008)
- 43Filings in 2015 (latest validated)
Filings climbed 54% over the past 10 months.
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.
- 22.9%Housing insecurity
- 14.4%Utility-shutoff threat
- 31.1%Food insecurity
- 26.3%SNAP enrollment
- 14.5%Transit barriers
- 17.8%No health insurance
- 19.4%Frequent mental distress
- 36.8%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Martin Luther King Jr. Park
What moves this score most is economic stress 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 riskier side for landlords.
Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 312 eviction filings here over 10 tracked years, with about 11.7% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 23.7% of renter households in 2008.
The tract is Hispanic or Latino and White and ranks around the 93rd 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, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.
Frequently asked
About tract 19153001700
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 19153001700?
Census tract 19153001700 in the Martin Luther King Jr. Park neighborhood scores 4.8/10 (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 19153001700?
Median gross rent is $893/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 46% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 19153001700?
19.7% of residents in tract 19153001700 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,486.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 19153001700?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 93th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 87th, household 96th, minority 84th, housing 77th.
Q5
Is tract 19153001700 considered part of Martin Luther King Jr. Park?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 19153001700 fall within Martin Luther King Jr. Park (neighborhood centroid within 0.1 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 19153001700?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 312 eviction filings across 10 validated years in tract 19153001700 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 11.73% of renter households, peaking at 23.7% in 2008. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
What share of households in tract 19153001700 struggle to pay rent?
About 22.9% 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. 14.4% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 19153001700 compare to Des Moines overall?
Tract 19153001700 scores 4.8/10, 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 19153001700 historically redlined?
Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of D. 98% 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.
Tract · IA
Kirkwood Glen
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IA
King Irving
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IA
Mondamin Presidential
5.7
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IA
19153000101
5.7
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IA
Drake Park
5.5
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IA
Sherman Hill
5.5
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · IA
Prospect Park
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · IA
Capitol Park
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
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