Within neighborhood
100
th percentile
Very High
Neighborhood · Ranked #66,742 of 84,120 nationally
Cushing Square Eviction Risk: Lower , Belmont
Tract 25017370401 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 3,527 · neighborhood within 0.9 mi
The Cushing Square area of Belmont is where census tract 25017370401 sits, home to 3,527 residents. Its landlord eviction-risk score is 5.1/10. That is riskier than about 42% of US census tracts.
Rent eats 30% or more of income for 45% of renter households, a severe level, and 29% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $2,231 monthly, set against $116,136 in average yearly household income, roughly 23% of income at the averages. About 70% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
2.5
Lower
Confidence 80% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 31%
Stable renters 39%
Owners 30%
Tract context
Occupied units1,898
Renter share69.8%
SVI overall0.48
Poverty rate10.6%
Median income$116,136
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
78
th percentile
High
Within county
56
th percentile
Elevated
Within state
38
th percentile
Low
Geographic context
Risk heat across Belmont and the region
Centroid at 42.3669, -71.1726 · click any tract to drill in
Why Cushing Square scores 2.5
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Belmont
6.2
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
10.6% poverty · this tract
2.7
Supply constraint
$2,231 rent vs county FMR
2.9
Rent control risk
Inherited from Belmont
6.2
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
5.0
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Belmont
4.0
Housing court bias
Inherited from Belmont
5.0
How Cushing Square compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 48
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 24%Socioeconomic
- 45%Household composition
- 50%Racial/ethnic minority
- 82%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
- 9%Grade B
- 64%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
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.
Comparable tracts
Census tracts with similar eviction risk
Within Cushing 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.
- 8.8%Housing insecurity
- 5.5%Utility-shutoff threat
- 8.8%Food insecurity
- 10.1%SNAP enrollment
- 6.4%Transit barriers
- 3.6%No health insurance
- 15.5%Frequent mental distress
- 21.5%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Cushing Square
The heaviest input here is rent-control risk at 6.2/10. 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 Belmont, 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 safer side for landlords.
In CDC survey modeling, about 8.8% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 5.5% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.
HOLC surveyors mapped this tract in the 1930s with a dominant grade of C ("Declining"), above the redlined D tier. The grading still shaped decades of lending and development in the surrounding area.
For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.
Frequently asked
About tract 25017370401
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017370401?
Census tract 25017370401 in the Cushing Square neighborhood scores 2.5/10 (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 25017370401?
Median gross rent is $2,231/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 45% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017370401?
10.6% of residents in tract 25017370401 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,527.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017370401?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 48th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 24th, household 45th, minority 50th, housing 82th.
Q5
Is tract 25017370401 considered part of Cushing Square?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017370401 fall within Cushing Square (neighborhood centroid within 0.9 miles, OSM data).
Q6
What share of households in tract 25017370401 struggle to pay rent?
About 8.8% 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. 5.5% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q7
How does tract 25017370401 compare to Belmont overall?
Tract 25017370401 scores 2.5/10, lower than the parent city of Belmont at 5.9/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Belmont; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q8
Was tract 25017370401 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 Belmont
Top eight tracts in Belmont ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
Tract · MA
North Brighton
2.6
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Bemis
2.5
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Oak Square
2.4
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Bemis
2.1
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Mount Auburn
2.1
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Bemis
1.9
/ 10 · Very Low
Tract · MA
Cushing Square
1.9
/ 10 · Very Low
Tract · MA
Bemis
1.9
/ 10 · Very Low
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