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Neighborhood · Ranked #54,934 of 84,120 nationally

Pioneer Park Eviction Risk: Lower , Des Moines

Tract 19153003902 · Polk County, IA · pop 5,804 · neighborhood within 1.4 mi

The Pioneer Park neighborhood of Des Moines anchors census tract 19153003902, which lands at 4.5/10 on landlord eviction risk. That is riskier than about 23% of US census tracts.

About 38% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a high level, and 19% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $980 a month while the average household earns $83,241 a year, roughly 14% of income at the averages. About 31% of occupied units are renter-occupied.

Risk score
3.2
Lower
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 12% Stable renters 19% Owners 69%
Tract context
Occupied units1,935
Renter share31.2%
SVI overall0.81
Poverty rate6.9%
Median income$83,241

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within neighborhood
0 th percentile
Rank, 0th percentileLowHigh
#2 of 2 tracts In Pioneer Park
Very Low
Within parent city
20 th percentile
Rank, 20th percentileLowHigh
#48 of 60 tracts In Des Moines
Low
Within county
55 th percentile
Rank, 55th percentileLowHigh
#51 of 112 tracts In Polk County
Elevated
Within state
54 th percentile
Rank, 54th percentileLowHigh
#409 of 896 tracts In Iowa
Moderate
Geographic context

Risk heat across Des Moines and the region

Centroid at 41.5524, -93.5661 · click any tract to drill in

Why Pioneer Park scores 3.2

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
6.9% poverty · this tract
1.7
Supply constraint
$980 rent vs county FMR
3.1
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 Pioneer Park compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
Pioneer Park risk score vs. parent city / county / stateThis tract: 3.23.2This tracttract 003902Des Moines: 2.62.6Des Moinesparent cityCounty: 3.23.2Countyavg tract in countyState: 3.33.3Stateavg tract in state
CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 81

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

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.

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)

  • 1,411Total filings over 10 yrs
  • 17.64%Avg annual filing rate
  • 26.1%Peak (2007)
  • 92Filings in 2015 (latest validated)
Filings by year 2006 to 2015
Year-by-year eviction filings in tract 191530039022006: 160 filings (20.76/100 renter HHs)2007: 201 filings (26.08/100 renter HHs)2008: 124 filings (16.09/100 renter HHs)2009: 148 filings (19.21/100 renter HHs)2010: 128 filings (17.53/100 renter HHs)2011: 131 filings (15.47/100 renter HHs)2012: 160 filings (18.89/100 renter HHs)2013: 152 filings (17.95/100 renter HHs)2014: 115 filings (13.58/100 renter HHs)2015: 92 filings (10.86/100 renter HHs)
Filings dropped 43% over the past 10 months.
Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Within Pioneer 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 Pioneer Park

The score leans hardest on supply constraint at 3.1/10. 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 below the Polk County average of 5.0 and in line with the Iowa statewide average of 4.3. Within its own county it reads on the safer side for landlords.

Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 1,411 eviction filings here over 10 tracked years, with about 17.6% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 26.1% of renter households in 2007.

The tract is White and Hispanic or Latino and ranks around the 81st 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 19153003902

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 19153003902?

Census tract 19153003902 in the Pioneer Park neighborhood scores 3.2/10 (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 19153003902?

Median gross rent is $980/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 38% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3

What is the poverty rate in tract 19153003902?

6.9% of residents in tract 19153003902 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 5,804.
Q4

How socially vulnerable is tract 19153003902?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 81th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 62th, household 90th, minority 70th, housing 79th.
Q5

Is tract 19153003902 considered part of Pioneer Park?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 19153003902 fall within Pioneer Park (neighborhood centroid within 1.4 miles, OSM data).
Q6

How many evictions are filed each year in tract 19153003902?

Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 1,411 eviction filings across 10 validated years in tract 19153003902 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 17.64% of renter households, peaking at 26.1% in 2007. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7

What share of households in tract 19153003902 struggle to pay rent?

About 14.1% 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. 8.1% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8

How does tract 19153003902 compare to Des Moines overall?

Tract 19153003902 scores 3.2/10, 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 19153003902 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. 14% 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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