Within neighborhood
0
th percentile
Very Low
Neighborhood · Ranked #42,763 of 84,120 nationally
Old Cambridge Eviction Risk: Lower
Tract 25017354100 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 2,469 · neighborhood within 0.2 mi
The Moderate-tier score of 5.9/10 for census tract 25017354100 reflects conditions in the Old Cambridge neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. On the national scale it ranks #23,793 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty.
About 38% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a high level, and 12% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $3,239 monthly, set against $137,361 in average yearly household income, roughly 28% of income at the averages. Renters make up 45% of occupied homes.
Risk score
3.9
Lower
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 17%
Stable renters 28%
Owners 55%
Tract context
Occupied units1,107
Renter share45.3%
SVI overall0.24
Poverty rate5.7%
Median income$137,361
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
28
th percentile
Low
Within county
77
th percentile
High
Within state
62
th percentile
Elevated
Geographic context
Risk heat across Cambridge and the region
Centroid at 42.3749, -71.1256 · click any tract to drill in
Why Old Cambridge scores 3.9
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
5.7% poverty · this tract
1.4
Supply constraint
$3,239 rent vs county FMR
6.4
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 Old Cambridge compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 24
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 2%Socioeconomic
- 6%Household composition
- 44%Racial/ethnic minority
- 96%Housing & transportation
Historical context · 1930s redlining
HOLC grade: B: Still Desirable
This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade B meant middle-class areas with mortgage access. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.
- 0%Grade A
- 39%Grade B
- 27%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)
- 13Total filings over 4 yrs
- 0.43%Avg annual filing rate
- 0.5%Peak (2015)
- 4Filings in 2015 (latest validated)
Filings dropped 100% over the past 5 months.
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
- 0Total filings 2020-21
- 0.0Avg monthly (observed)
- 0.2Pre-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 Old Cambridge. 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.
- 5.8%Housing insecurity
- 3.4%Utility-shutoff threat
- 5.5%Food insecurity
- 5.4%SNAP enrollment
- 4.6%Transit barriers
- 2.8%No health insurance
- 12.8%Frequent mental distress
- 21.0%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Old Cambridge
What moves this score most 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 in line with the Massachusetts statewide average of 5.9. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.
HOLC surveyors mapped this tract in the 1930s with a dominant grade of B ("Still Desirable"), above the redlined D tier. The grading still shaped decades of lending and development in the surrounding area.
In CDC survey modeling, about 5.8% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 3.4% 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 25017354100
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017354100?
Census tract 25017354100 in the Old Cambridge neighborhood scores 3.9/10 (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 25017354100?
Median gross rent is $3,239/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 38% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017354100?
5.7% of residents in tract 25017354100 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,469.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017354100?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 24th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 2th, household 6th, minority 44th, housing 96th.
Q5
Is tract 25017354100 considered part of Old Cambridge?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017354100 fall within Old Cambridge (neighborhood centroid within 0.2 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017354100?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 13 eviction filings across 4 validated years in tract 25017354100 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 0.43% of renter households, peaking at 0.5% in 2015. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
Did eviction filings in tract 25017354100 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 25017354100 struggle to pay rent?
About 5.8% 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. 3.4% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q9
How does tract 25017354100 compare to Cambridge overall?
Tract 25017354100 scores 3.9/10, 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 25017354100 historically redlined?
Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of B. 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
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
Brickbottom
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Old Cambridge
5.8
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
West Somerville
5.5
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Inman Square
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
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