Neighborhood · Ranked #61,757 of 84,120 nationally
Davis Square Eviction Risk: Lower , Somerville
Tract 25017350500 ·
Middlesex County, MA · pop 1,666 · neighborhood within 0.3 mi
Census tract 25017350500 sits in the Davis Square neighborhood of Somerville eviction risk, Massachusetts eviction laws, and carries an eviction-risk score of 5.2/10. That is riskier than roughly 46% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.
Rent eats 30% or more of income for 24% of renter households, a moderate level, and 9% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $2,827 a month while the average household earns $160,556 a year, roughly 21% of income at the averages. About 69% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
2.8
Lower
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 17%Stable renters 52%Owners 31%
Tract context
Occupied units774
Renter share68.7%
SVI overall0.08
Poverty rate5.1%
Median income$160,556
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within neighborhood
0th percentile
#2 of 2 tracts In Davis Square
Very Low
Within parent city
0th percentile
#25 of 25 tracts In Somerville
Very Low
Within county
60th percentile
#144 of 357 tracts In Middlesex County
Elevated
Within state
43th percentile
#914 of 1,613 tracts In Massachusetts
Moderate
Geographic context
Risk heat across Somerville and the region
Centroid at 42.4000, -71.1226 · click any tract to drill in
Why Davis Square scores 2.8
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly
Local 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
5.1% poverty · this tract
1.3
Supply constraint
$2,827 rent vs county FMR
5.0
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: 8
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
12%Socioeconomic
2%Household composition
19%Racial/ethnic minority
51%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
20%Grade B
80%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)
9Total filings over 4 yrs
0.52%Avg annual filing rate
0.9%Peak (2012)
1Filings in 2015 (latest validated)
Filings by year2012 to 2016
Filings dropped 100% over the past 5 months.
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
0Total filings 2020-21
0.0Avg monthly (observed)
0.1Pre-pandemic baseline
0.00×Ratio to baseline
Monthly filings 2020–20212020-01-01 to 2023-11-01
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.
Crude prevalence of conditions linked to housing loss. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh), 2023 model-based small-area estimates.
6.7%Housing insecurity
3.9%Utility-shutoff threat
5.9%Food insecurity
6.0%SNAP enrollment
5.2%Transit barriers
2.8%No health insurance
15.6%Frequent mental distress
17.6%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Davis Square
What moves this score most is 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 about the same as the Middlesex County average of 5.2 and below 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 8th 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.
Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 9 eviction filings here over 4 tracked years, with about 0.5% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 0.9% of renter households in 2012.
For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.
Frequently asked
About tract 25017350500
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017350500?
Census tract 25017350500 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 25017350500?
Median gross rent is $2,827/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 24% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017350500?
5.1% of residents in tract 25017350500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 1,666.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017350500?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 8th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 12th, household 2th, minority 19th, housing 51th.
Q5
Is tract 25017350500 considered part of Davis Square?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017350500 fall within Davis Square (neighborhood centroid within 0.3 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017350500?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 9 eviction filings across 4 validated years in tract 25017350500 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 0.52% of renter households, peaking at 0.9% in 2012. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
Did eviction filings in tract 25017350500 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 25017350500 struggle to pay rent?
About 6.7% 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. 3.9% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q9
How does tract 25017350500 compare to Somerville overall?
Tract 25017350500 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 25017350500 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.