Within neighborhood
60
th percentile
Elevated
Neighborhood · Ranked #32,735 of 84,120 nationally
Central Square Eviction Risk: Moderate , Cambridge
Tract 25017353000 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 3,018 · neighborhood within 0.2 mi
In the Central Square area of Cambridge, census tract 25017353000 scores 6.4/10 for eviction risk. On the national scale it ranks #12,563 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty.
45% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a severe level, and 18% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $2,786 a month while the average household earns $141,667 a year, roughly 24% of income at the averages. About 76% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
4.5
Moderate
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 34%
Stable renters 41%
Owners 25%
Tract context
Occupied units1,532
Renter share75.5%
SVI overall0.32
Poverty rate15.1%
Median income$141,667
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
50
th percentile
Moderate
Within county
86
th percentile
High
Within state
71
th percentile
Elevated
Geographic context
Risk heat across Cambridge and the region
Centroid at 42.3678, -71.1033 · click any tract to drill in
Why Central Square scores 4.5
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Cambridge
9.0
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
15.1% poverty · this tract
3.8
Supply constraint
$2,786 rent vs county FMR
4.8
Rent control risk
Inherited from Cambridge
8.5
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
8.5
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Cambridge
8.5
Housing court bias
Inherited from Cambridge
8.0
How Central Square compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 32
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 32%Socioeconomic
- 6%Household composition
- 56%Racial/ethnic minority
- 67%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
- 56%Grade C
- 30%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)
- 165Total filings over 5 yrs
- 2.51%Avg annual filing rate
- 3.0%Peak (2014)
- 23Filings in 2016 (latest validated)
Filings dropped 21% over the past 5 months.
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
- 0Total filings 2020-21
- 0.0Avg monthly (observed)
- 0.9Pre-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 Central 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.
- 8.1%Housing insecurity
- 5.0%Utility-shutoff threat
- 8.0%Food insecurity
- 8.4%SNAP enrollment
- 6.2%Transit barriers
- 3.3%No health insurance
- 14.7%Frequent mental distress
- 19.7%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Central Square
The heaviest input here is eviction process difficulty 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 Cambridge 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 above the Massachusetts statewide average of 5.9. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.
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.
Part of this tract, about 30% of its area, sat in the redlined grade-D zone on 1930s HOLC maps, though its dominant grade was C ("Declining"). That lending history still correlates with present-day rent burden.
For a landlord, this is a tract where process discipline pays off. Clean paperwork and steady screening keep the elevated risk manageable.
Frequently asked
About tract 25017353000
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017353000?
Census tract 25017353000 in the Central Square neighborhood scores 4.5/10 (Moderate 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 25017353000?
Median gross rent is $2,786/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 45% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017353000?
15.1% of residents in tract 25017353000 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,018.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017353000?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 32th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 32th, household 6th, minority 56th, housing 67th.
Q5
Is tract 25017353000 considered part of Central Square?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017353000 fall within Central Square (neighborhood centroid within 0.2 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017353000?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 165 eviction filings across 5 validated years in tract 25017353000 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 2.51% of renter households, peaking at 3.0% in 2014. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
Did eviction filings in tract 25017353000 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 25017353000 struggle to pay rent?
About 8.1% 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. 5.0% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q9
How does tract 25017353000 compare to Cambridge overall?
Tract 25017353000 scores 4.5/10, 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 25017353000 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. 30% 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
Harvard Yard
6.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Central Square
6.5
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Harlow Square
6.3
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Harlow Square
6.2
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Old Cambridge
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Brickbottom
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
West Somerville
5.5
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Inman Square
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
Related