Within neighborhood
100
th percentile
Very High
Neighborhood · Ranked #61,757 of 84,120 nationally
Davis Square Eviction Risk: Lower , Somerville
Tract 25017350400 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 6,021 · neighborhood within 0.4 mi
Eviction risk in the Davis Square neighborhood of Somerville centers on tract 25017350400, which scores 5.8/10 (Moderate tier) and is home to 6,021 residents. It lands near the 68th percentile nationally for landlord eviction risk.
41% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a severe level, and 13% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $2,803 monthly, set against $160,960 in average yearly household income, roughly 21% of income at the averages. About 48% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
Risk score
2.8
Lower
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 20%
Stable renters 29%
Owners 51%
Tract context
Occupied units2,350
Renter share48.3%
SVI overall0.03
Poverty rate6.1%
Median income$160,960
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
0
th percentile
Very Low
Within county
60
th percentile
Elevated
Within state
43
th percentile
Moderate
Geographic context
Risk heat across Somerville and the region
Centroid at 42.3984, -71.1151 · click any tract to drill in
Why Davis Square scores 2.8
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Somerville
8.5
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
6.1% poverty · this tract
1.5
Supply constraint
$2,803 rent vs county FMR
4.9
Rent control risk
Inherited from Somerville
7.5
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
8.0
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Somerville
8.0
Housing court bias
Inherited from Somerville
8.0
How Davis Square compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 3
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 3%Socioeconomic
- 1%Household composition
- 40%Racial/ethnic minority
- 41%Housing & transportation
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.
- 0%Grade A
- 29%Grade B
- 71%Grade C
- 0%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)
- 18Total filings over 5 yrs
- 0.23%Avg annual filing rate
- 0.4%Peak (2012)
- 3Filings in 2016 (latest validated)
Filings dropped 50% over the past 5 months.
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
- 0Total filings 2020-21
- 0.0Avg monthly (observed)
- 0.4Pre-pandemic baseline
- 0.00×Ratio to baseline
Pandemic filings ran far below baseline (moratorium effect). Eviction Lab tracked Boston, MA as part of its 34-metro Eviction Tracking System.
Comparable tracts
Census tracts with similar eviction risk
Within Davis Square. 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.
- 7.9%Housing insecurity
- 4.6%Utility-shutoff threat
- 7.5%Food insecurity
- 7.9%SNAP enrollment
- 6.0%Transit barriers
- 3.4%No health insurance
- 16.7%Frequent mental distress
- 19.5%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Davis Square
The score leans hardest on eviction process difficulty at $1/10. 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 Somerville eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.
Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Middlesex County average of 5.2 and in line with the Massachusetts statewide average of 5.9. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.
The tract is predominantly White and ranks around the 3rd 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.
During 2020 and 2021, eviction filings here ran at about 0.00x the pre-COVID monthly baseline, well below the pre-pandemic norm, the signature of an eviction moratorium at work.
For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.
Frequently asked
About tract 25017350400
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017350400?
Census tract 25017350400 in the Davis Square neighborhood scores 2.8/10 (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 25017350400?
Median gross rent is $2,803/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 41% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017350400?
6.1% of residents in tract 25017350400 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 6,021.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017350400?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 3th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 3th, household 1th, minority 40th, housing 41th.
Q5
Is tract 25017350400 considered part of Davis Square?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017350400 fall within Davis Square (neighborhood centroid within 0.4 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017350400?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 18 eviction filings across 5 validated years in tract 25017350400 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 0.23% of renter households, peaking at 0.4% in 2012. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
Did eviction filings in tract 25017350400 drop during COVID?
Pandemic-era filings ran 0.00× the pre-COVID monthly baseline. Filings dropped sharply, likely a moratorium effect. Tracked by the Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Boston eviction risk, MA), 2020-2021.
Q8
What share of households in tract 25017350400 struggle to pay rent?
About 7.9% 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. 4.6% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q9
How does tract 25017350400 compare to Somerville overall?
Tract 25017350400 scores 2.8/10, lower than the parent city of Somerville at 6.6/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Somerville eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q10
Was tract 25017350400 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. 0% 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 Somerville
Top eight tracts in Somerville ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
Tract · MA
West Somerville
6.2
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Brickbottom
4.7
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · MA
Winter Hill
4.2
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · MA
East Somerville
4.1
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · MA
East Somerville
3.7
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Magoun Square
3.6
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Teele Square
3.5
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Teele Square
3.4
/ 10 · Low
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