Within neighborhood
100
th percentile
Very High
Neighborhood · Ranked #68,306 of 84,120 nationally
Oak Square Eviction Risk: Lower , Newton
Tract 25017370402 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 1,575 · neighborhood within 0.9 mi
The Moderate-tier score of 4.6/10 for census tract 25017370402 reflects conditions in Oak Square in Newton, Massachusetts. That is riskier than roughly 26% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.
Rent eats 30% or more of income for 27% of renter households, a moderate level, and 19% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $2,373 monthly, set against $137,104 in average yearly household income, roughly 21% of income at the averages. Renters make up 58% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
2.4
Lower
Confidence 80% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 16%
Stable renters 42%
Owners 42%
Tract context
Occupied units685
Renter share57.7%
SVI overall0.29
Poverty rate12.7%
Median income$137,104
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
67
th percentile
Elevated
Within county
54
th percentile
Moderate
Within state
36
th percentile
Low
Geographic context
Risk heat across Newton and the region
Centroid at 42.3627, -71.1764 · click any tract to drill in
Why Oak Square scores 2.4
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Newton
6.2
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.3
State political climate
Massachusetts legislature & governorship
6.2
Economic stress
12.7% poverty · this tract
3.2
Supply constraint
$2,373 rent vs county FMR
3.4
Rent control risk
Inherited from Newton
6.2
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
5.0
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Newton
4.0
Housing court bias
Inherited from Newton
5.0
How Oak Square compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 29
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 14%Socioeconomic
- 9%Household composition
- 64%Racial/ethnic minority
- 77%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
- 47%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 Oak 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.
- 9.2%Housing insecurity
- 5.7%Utility-shutoff threat
- 9.3%Food insecurity
- 10.6%SNAP enrollment
- 6.6%Transit barriers
- 3.8%No health insurance
- 15.7%Frequent mental distress
- 22.8%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Oak Square
What moves this score most 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 Newton eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.
Set against its neighbors, this tract scores below 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.
The tract is racially mixed and ranks around the 29th 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.
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 25017370402
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017370402?
Census tract 25017370402 in the Oak Square neighborhood scores 2.4/10 (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 25017370402?
Median gross rent is $2,373/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 27% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 25017370402?
12.7% of residents in tract 25017370402 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 1,575.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 25017370402?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 29th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 14th, household 9th, minority 64th, housing 77th.
Q5
Is tract 25017370402 considered part of Oak Square?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017370402 fall within Oak Square (neighborhood centroid within 0.9 miles, OSM data).
Q6
What share of households in tract 25017370402 struggle to pay rent?
About 9.2% 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. 5.7% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q7
How does tract 25017370402 compare to Newton overall?
Tract 25017370402 scores 2.4/10, lower than the parent city of Newton at 5.6/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Newton eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q8
Was tract 25017370402 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 Newton
Top eight tracts in Newton ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
Tract · MA
North Brighton
2.6
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Cushing Square
2.5
/ 10 · Low
Tract · MA
Bemis
2.5
/ 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
Bemis
1.9
/ 10 · Very Low
Tract · MA
Cushing Square
1.9
/ 10 · Very Low
Related