Neighborhood · Ranked #29,578 of 84,120 nationally

Western Gateway Eviction Risk: Moderate , Des Moines

Tract 19153005101 · Polk County, IA · pop 6,728 · neighborhood within 0.3 mi

Tract 19153005101 covers the Western Gateway area of Des Moines in Iowa. Home to 6,728 residents, it scores 4.8/10 on landlord eviction risk. That is riskier than roughly 32% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.

About 32% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a high level, and 13% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $1,151 a month while the average household earns $56,838 a year, roughly 24% of income at the averages. About 88% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score

4.7

Moderate

Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 28% Stable renters 60% Owners 12%

Tract context

Occupied units4,746

Renter share88.0%

SVI overall0.35

Poverty rate19.7%

Median income$56,838

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Des Moines and the region

Centroid at 41.5836, -93.6284 · click any tract to drill in

Why Western Gateway scores 4.7

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

19.7% poverty · this tract

4.9

Supply constraint

$1,151 rent vs county FMR

4.5

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 Western Gateway compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 35

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

46%Socioeconomic
1%Household composition
47%Racial/ethnic minority
87%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
0%Grade B
2%Grade C
88%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.

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.

8.7%Housing insecurity
6.0%Utility-shutoff threat
9.9%Food insecurity
7.7%SNAP enrollment
6.6%Transit barriers
5.7%No health insurance
17.5%Frequent mental distress
20.8%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Western Gateway

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 safer side for landlords.

The tract is predominantly White and ranks around the 35th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. That is a relatively low-vulnerability reading.

This tract overlaps land the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation redlined in the 1930s, a dominant grade of D ("Hazardous") across 88% of the tract. Redlining cut off mortgage credit to Black, immigrant, and working-class blocks, and those areas still tend to carry higher rent burden and eviction filings today.

For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.

Frequently asked

About tract 19153005101

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 19153005101?

Census tract 19153005101 in the Western Gateway neighborhood scores 4.7/10 (Moderate tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.

What is the average rent in tract 19153005101?

Median gross rent is $1,151/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 32% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 19153005101?

19.7% of residents in tract 19153005101 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 6,728.

How socially vulnerable is tract 19153005101?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 35th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 46th, household 1th, minority 47th, housing 87th.

Is tract 19153005101 considered part of Western Gateway?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 19153005101 fall within Western Gateway (neighborhood centroid within 0.3 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 19153005101 struggle to pay rent?

About 8.7% 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. 6.0% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 19153005101 compare to Des Moines overall?

Tract 19153005101 scores 4.7/10, 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.

Was tract 19153005101 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. 88% 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.