Within neighborhood
20
th percentile
Low
Neighborhood · Ranked #58,384 of 84,120 nationally
West Somerville Eviction Risk: Lower , Cambridge
Tract 25017350900 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 3,736 · neighborhood within 0.2 mi
Here is how census tract 25017350900, in the West Somerville area of Cambridge eviction risk, looks to a landlord: a 5.5/10 eviction-risk score (Moderate tier) across a population of 3,736. That is riskier than about 57% of US census tracts.
About 27% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a moderate level, and 8% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $2,891 a month while the average household earns $207,776 a year, roughly 17% of income at the averages. About 60% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
3
Lower
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 17%
Stable renters 44%
Owners 39%
Tract context
Occupied units1,685
Renter share60.2%
SVI overall0.05
Poverty rate8.5%
Median income$207,776
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
38
th percentile
Low
Within county
65
th percentile
Elevated
Within state
47
th percentile
Moderate
Geographic context
Risk heat across Cambridge and the region
Centroid at 42.3943, -71.1203 · click any tract to drill in
Why West Somerville scores 3
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Cambridge
8.5
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
8.5% poverty · this tract
2.1
Supply constraint
$2,891 rent vs county FMR
5.2
Rent control risk
Inherited from Cambridge
7.5
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
8.0
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Cambridge
8.0
Housing court bias
Inherited from Cambridge
8.0
How West Somerville compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 5
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 3%Socioeconomic
- 1%Household composition
- 40%Racial/ethnic minority
- 54%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
- 0%Grade B
- 100%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)
- 12Total filings over 5 yrs
- 0.23%Avg annual filing rate
- 0.4%Peak (2013)
- 3Filings in 2016 (latest validated)
Filings climbed 200% over the past 5 months.
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
- 0Total filings 2020-21
- 0.0Avg monthly (observed)
- 0.3Pre-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 West Somerville. 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.
- 6.3%Housing insecurity
- 3.9%Utility-shutoff threat
- 5.5%Food insecurity
- 5.7%SNAP enrollment
- 4.9%Transit barriers
- 2.6%No health insurance
- 15.1%Frequent mental distress
- 16.9%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in West Somerville
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 Cambridge 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 5th 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 12 eviction filings here over 5 tracked years, with about 0.2% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 0.4% of renter households in 2013.
For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.
Frequently asked
About tract 25017350900
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017350900?
Census tract 25017350900 in the West Somerville neighborhood scores 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 25017350900?
Median gross rent is $2,891/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 27% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017350900?
8.5% of residents in tract 25017350900 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,736.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017350900?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 5th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 3th, household 1th, minority 40th, housing 54th.
Q5
Is tract 25017350900 considered part of West Somerville?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017350900 fall within West Somerville (neighborhood centroid within 0.2 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017350900?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 12 eviction filings across 5 validated years in tract 25017350900 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 0.23% of renter households, peaking at 0.4% in 2013. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
Did eviction filings in tract 25017350900 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 25017350900 struggle to pay rent?
About 6.3% 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 25017350900 compare to Cambridge overall?
Tract 25017350900 scores 3/10, lower than the parent city of Cambridge at 7.1/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Cambridge eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q10
Was tract 25017350900 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 Cambridge
Top eight tracts in Cambridge 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
Related