Within neighborhood
50
th percentile
Moderate
Neighborhood · Ranked #51,553 of 84,120 nationally
South Side Eviction Risk: Lower , Waltham
Tract 25017368500 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 3,052 · neighborhood within 0.3 mi
Census tract 25017368500 runs through the South Side area of Waltham. With 3,052 residents, it scores 5.2/10 for landlords. It lands near the 46th percentile nationally for landlord eviction risk.
About 40% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a severe level, and 18% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $1,821 a month against an average household income of $90,484 a year, roughly 24% of income at the averages. About 83% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
3.4
Lower
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 33%
Stable renters 50%
Owners 17%
Tract context
Occupied units1,954
Renter share83.2%
SVI overall0.66
Poverty rate12.0%
Median income$90,484
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
75
th percentile
High
Within county
69
th percentile
Elevated
Within state
53
th percentile
Moderate
Geographic context
Risk heat across Waltham and the region
Centroid at 42.3693, -71.2386 · click any tract to drill in
Why South Side scores 3.4
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Waltham
7.5
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
12.0% poverty · this tract
3.0
Supply constraint
$1,821 rent vs county FMR
1.4
Rent control risk
Inherited from Waltham
5.1
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
5.7
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Waltham
9.2
Housing court bias
Inherited from Waltham
4.9
How South Side compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 66
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 57%Socioeconomic
- 22%Household composition
- 67%Racial/ethnic minority
- 90%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
- 55%Grade C
- 7%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)
- 134Total filings over 4 yrs
- 2.66%Avg annual filing rate
- 4.1%Peak (2013)
- 31Filings in 2016 (latest validated)
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
- 0Total filings 2020-21
- 0.0Avg monthly (observed)
- 0.0Pre-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.
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.
- 11.5%Housing insecurity
- 6.4%Utility-shutoff threat
- 12.0%Food insecurity
- 12.3%SNAP enrollment
- 7.9%Transit barriers
- 6.1%No health insurance
- 15.6%Frequent mental distress
- 22.6%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in South Side
What moves this score most is tenant organizing strength at 9.2/10. 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 Waltham 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 racially mixed and ranks around the 66th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. That is a middle-of-the-pack reading for social vulnerability.
Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 134 eviction filings here over 4 tracked years, with about 2.7% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 4.1% 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 25017368500
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017368500?
Census tract 25017368500 in the South Side neighborhood scores 3.4/10 (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 25017368500?
Median gross rent is $1,821/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 40% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017368500?
12.0% of residents in tract 25017368500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,052.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017368500?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 66th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 57th, household 22th, minority 67th, housing 90th.
Q5
Is tract 25017368500 considered part of South Side?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017368500 fall within South Side (neighborhood centroid within 0.3 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017368500?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 134 eviction filings across 4 validated years in tract 25017368500 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 2.66% of renter households, peaking at 4.1% in 2013. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
What share of households in tract 25017368500 struggle to pay rent?
About 11.5% 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. 6.4% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 25017368500 compare to Waltham overall?
Tract 25017368500 scores 3.4/10, lower than the parent city of Waltham at 5.6/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Waltham eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q9
Was tract 25017368500 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. 7% 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 Waltham
Top eight tracts in Waltham ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
Tract · MA
Pigeon Hill
5.9
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · MA
Central Square
4.5
/ 10 · Moderate
Tract · MA
The Bleachery
3.7
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Banks Square
3.3
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
The Island
2.8
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
The Bleachery
2.5
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Lakeview
2.3
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Prospectville
2.3
/ 10 · Low
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