Within neighborhood
0
th percentile
Very Low
Neighborhood · Ranked #69,776 of 84,120 nationally
Merle Hay Eviction Risk: Lower , Des Moines
Tract 19153011201 · Polk County, IA · pop 5,308 · neighborhood within 1.3 mi
The Merle Hay neighborhood of Des Moines anchors census tract 19153011201, which lands at 5.4/10 on landlord eviction risk. That is riskier than about 53% of US census tracts.
39% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a high level, and 17% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $1,355 a month while the average household earns $89,229 a year, roughly 18% of income at the averages. Renters make up 22% of occupied homes.
Risk score
2.3
Lower
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 9%
Stable renters 13%
Owners 78%
Tract context
Occupied units2,083
Renter share22.0%
SVI overall0.22
Poverty rate6.8%
Median income$89,229
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
50
th percentile
Moderate
Within county
29
th percentile
Low
Within state
20
th percentile
Low
Geographic context
Risk heat across Des Moines and the region
Centroid at 41.6045, -93.7130 · click any tract to drill in
Why Merle Hay scores 2.3
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Des Moines
6.2
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
5.8
State political climate
Iowa legislature & governorship
2.3
Economic stress
6.8% poverty · this tract
1.7
Supply constraint
$1,355 rent vs county FMR
6.1
Rent control risk
Inherited from Des Moines
5.3
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
2.3
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Des Moines
5.1
Housing court bias
Inherited from Des Moines
4.6
How Merle Hay compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 22
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 11%Socioeconomic
- 42%Household composition
- 35%Racial/ethnic minority
- 40%Housing & transportation
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)
- 125Total filings over 10 yrs
- 2.24%Avg annual filing rate
- 4.9%Peak (2006)
- 13Filings in 2015 (latest validated)
Filings dropped 54% over the past 10 months.
Comparable tracts
Census tracts with similar eviction risk
Within Merle Hay. 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.
- 8.2%Housing insecurity
- 5.4%Utility-shutoff threat
- 9.3%Food insecurity
- 7.3%SNAP enrollment
- 5.5%Transit barriers
- 5.9%No health insurance
- 15.5%Frequent mental distress
- 25.5%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Merle Hay
What moves this score most is supply constraint at 6.1/10. 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 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 8.2% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 5.4% 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 19153011201
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 19153011201?
Census tract 19153011201 in the Merle Hay neighborhood scores 2.3/10 (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 19153011201?
Median gross rent is $1,355/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 39% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 19153011201?
6.8% of residents in tract 19153011201 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 5,308.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 19153011201?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 22th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 11th, household 42th, minority 35th, housing 40th.
Q5
Is tract 19153011201 considered part of Merle Hay?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 19153011201 fall within Merle Hay (neighborhood centroid within 1.3 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 19153011201?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 125 eviction filings across 10 validated years in tract 19153011201 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 2.24% of renter households, peaking at 4.9% in 2006. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
What share of households in tract 19153011201 struggle to pay rent?
About 8.2% 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. 5.4% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 19153011201 compare to Des Moines overall?
Tract 19153011201 scores 2.3/10, lower 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.
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