Neighborhood · Ranked #38,706 of 84,120 nationally

Newton Highlands Eviction Risk: Moderate

Tract 25017374100 · Middlesex County, MA · pop 4,976 · neighborhood within 0.6 mi

The Moderate-tier score of 5.1/10 for census tract 25017374100 reflects conditions in the Newton Highlands area of Newton, Massachusetts. It lands near the 42nd percentile nationally for landlord eviction risk.

About 42% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a severe level, and 27% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $2,616 a month against an average household income of $120,766 a year, roughly 26% of income at the averages. About 39% of occupied units are renter-occupied.

Risk score

4.9

Moderate

Confidence 100% · 1-10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 16% Stable renters 22% Owners 62%

Tract context

Occupied units2,003

Renter share38.5%

SVI overall0.31

Poverty rate10.6%

Median income$120,766

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Newton and the region

Centroid at 42.3150, -71.2118 · click any tract to drill in

Why Newton Highlands scores 4.9

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Newton

7.1

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

7.3

State political climate

Massachusetts legislature & governorship

6.2

Economic stress

10.6% poverty · this tract

2.6

Supply constraint

$2,616 rent vs county FMR

4.2

Rent control risk

Inherited from Newton

4.8

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

5.9

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Newton

6.3

Housing court bias

Inherited from Newton

3.9

How Newton Highlands compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 31

CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.

9%Socioeconomic
49%Household composition
54%Racial/ethnic minority
59%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.

3%Grade A
1%Grade B
62%Grade C
23%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 · Princeton Eviction Lab

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.

Historic baseline (2000-2018)

47Total filings over 5 yrs
1.18%Avg annual filing rate
2.2%Peak (2016)
15Filings in 2016 (latest validated)

Filings by year 2012 to 2016

Filings climbed 88% over the past 5 months.

Pandemic-era tracking (2020-2021)

0Total filings 2020-21
0.0Avg monthly (observed)
1.0Pre-pandemic baseline
0.00×Ratio to baseline

Monthly filings 2020-2021 2020-01-01 to 2023-11-01

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 Newton Highlands. 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.

7.0%Housing insecurity
4.4%Utility-shutoff threat
7.3%Food insecurity
7.7%SNAP enrollment
5.2%Transit barriers
2.7%No health insurance
12.7%Frequent mental distress
21.8%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Newton Highlands

The heaviest input here is tenant organizing strength at 6.3/10. 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 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.

The tract is White and Asian and ranks around the 31st 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.

Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 47 eviction filings here over 5 tracked years, with about 1.2% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 2.2% of renter households in 2016.

For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.

Frequently asked

About tract 25017374100

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 25017374100?

Census tract 25017374100 in the Newton Highlands neighborhood scores 4.9/10 (Moderate tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.

What is the average rent in tract 25017374100?

Median gross rent is $2,616/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 42% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 25017374100?

10.6% of residents in tract 25017374100 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 4,976.

How socially vulnerable is tract 25017374100?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 31th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 9th, household 49th, minority 54th, housing 59th.

Is tract 25017374100 considered part of Newton Highlands?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 25017374100 fall within Newton Highlands (neighborhood centroid within 0.6 miles, OSM data).

How many evictions are filed each year in tract 25017374100?

Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 47 eviction filings across 5 validated years in tract 25017374100 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 1.18% of renter households, peaking at 2.2% in 2016. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.

Did eviction filings in tract 25017374100 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.

What share of households in tract 25017374100 struggle to pay rent?

About 7.0% 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. 4.4% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 25017374100 compare to Newton overall?

Tract 25017374100 scores 4.9/10, higher than the parent city of Newton at 4.4/10. 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.

Q10

Was tract 25017374100 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. 23% 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.