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Census Tract · Ranked #72,539 of 84,120 nationally

West Des Moines Eviction Risk: Lower

Tract 19153011112 · Polk County, IA · pop 3,717

Census tract 19153011112 runs through West Des Moines. With 3,717 residents, it scores 5.6/10 for landlords. On the national scale it ranks #32,668 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty.

About 60% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a severe level, and 11% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $1,170 a month against an average household income of $81,781 a year, roughly 17% of income at the averages. About 22% of occupied units are renter-occupied.

Risk score
2.1
Lower
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 13% Stable renters 9% Owners 78%
Tract context
Occupied units1,624
Renter share22.0%
SVI overall0.22
Poverty rate2.6%
Median income$81,781

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within parent city
53 th percentile
Rank, 53rd percentileLowHigh
#8 of 16 tracts In West Des Moines
Moderate
Within county
25 th percentile
Rank, 25th percentileLowHigh
#84 of 112 tracts In Polk County
Low
Within state
14 th percentile
Rank, 14th percentileLowHigh
#769 of 896 tracts In Iowa
Very Low
National
14 th percentile
Rank, 14th percentileLowHigh
#72,539 of 84,120 tracts In U.S.
Very Low
Geographic context

Risk heat across West Des Moines and the region

Centroid at 41.5898, -93.7353 · click any tract to drill in

Why West Des Moines scores 2.1

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly
Local political climate
Inherited from West Des Moines
6.2
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
5.8
State political climate
Iowa legislature & governorship
2.3
Economic stress
2.6% poverty · this tract
1.0
Supply constraint
$1,170 rent vs county FMR
4.6
Rent control risk
Inherited from West Des Moines
4.3
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
2.0
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from West Des Moines
8.5
Housing court bias
Inherited from West Des Moines
4.2

How West Des Moines compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
West Des Moines risk score vs. parent city / county / stateThis tract: 2.12.1This tracttract 011112West Des Moines: 2.32.3West Des Moinesparent cityCounty: 3.23.2Countyavg tract in countyState: 3.33.3Stateavg tract in state
CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 22

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

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)

  • 78Total filings over 10 yrs
  • 2.27%Avg annual filing rate
  • 3.4%Peak (2013)
  • 8Filings in 2015 (latest validated)
Filings by year 2006 to 2015
Year-by-year eviction filings in tract 191530111122006: 6 filings (1.72/100 renter HHs)2007: 9 filings (2.59/100 renter HHs)2008: 7 filings (2.01/100 renter HHs)2009: 9 filings (2.59/100 renter HHs)2010: 8 filings (2.74/100 renter HHs)2011: 7 filings (1.98/100 renter HHs)2012: 2 filings (0.56/100 renter HHs)2013: 12 filings (3.39/100 renter HHs)2014: 10 filings (2.82/100 renter HHs)2015: 8 filings (2.26/100 renter HHs)
Filings climbed 33% over the past 10 months.
Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

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 West Des Moines

The score leans hardest on tenant organizing strength at 8.5/10. 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 West Des Moines eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above 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.

The tract is predominantly White and ranks around the 22nd 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.

In CDC survey modeling, about 7.7% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 5.2% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

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

Frequently asked

About tract 19153011112

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 19153011112?

Census tract 19153011112 in West Des Moines scores 2.1/10 (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 19153011112?

Median gross rent is $1,170/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 60% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3

What is the poverty rate in tract 19153011112?

2.6% of residents in tract 19153011112 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,717.
Q4

How socially vulnerable is tract 19153011112?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 22th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 11th, household 63th, minority 38th, housing 26th.
Q5

How many evictions are filed each year in tract 19153011112?

Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 78 eviction filings across 10 validated years in tract 19153011112 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 2.27% of renter households, peaking at 3.4% in 2013. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q6

What share of households in tract 19153011112 struggle to pay rent?

About 7.7% 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. 5.2% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q7

How does tract 19153011112 compare to West Des Moines overall?

Tract 19153011112 scores 2.1/10, right in line with the parent city of West Des Moines at 2.3/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from West Des Moines eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Sibling tracts

Highest-risk tracts in West Des Moines

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

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