Census Tract · Ranked #15,522 of 84,120 nationally

Grand Rapids Eviction Risk: Moderate

Tract 26081001500 · Kent County, MI · pop 3,844

Tract 26081001500, home to 3,844 residents in Grand Rapids, scores 6.2/10 for landlord eviction risk. That is riskier than about 80% of US census tracts.

Rent eats 30% or more of income for 63% of renter households, a severe level, and 27% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $1,039 monthly, set against $46,323 in average yearly household income, roughly 27% of income at the averages. Renters make up 63% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score

5.7

Moderate

Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 40% Stable renters 23% Owners 37%

Tract context

Occupied units1,539

Renter share63.1%

SVI overall0.71

Poverty rate26.9%

Median income$46,323

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Grand Rapids and the region

Centroid at 42.9786, -85.6811 · click any tract to drill in

Why Grand Rapids scores 5.7

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Grand Rapids

5.5

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

5.3

State political climate

Michigan legislature & governorship

3.3

Economic stress

26.9% poverty · this tract

6.7

Supply constraint

$1,039 rent vs county FMR

2.2

Rent control risk

Inherited from Grand Rapids

1.5

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

4.5

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Grand Rapids

4.5

Housing court bias

Inherited from Grand Rapids

4.5

How Grand Rapids compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 71

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

87%Socioeconomic
42%Household composition
72%Racial/ethnic minority
42%Housing & transportation

Historical context · 1930s redlining

HOLC grade: D: Hazardous (Redlined)

This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade D meant Black, immigrant, and poor neighborhoods systematically denied mortgage credit. 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
0%Grade C
47%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.

Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

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.

17.9%Housing insecurity
12.4%Utility-shutoff threat
22.0%Food insecurity
19.5%SNAP enrollment
12.1%Transit barriers
11.5%No health insurance
20.5%Frequent mental distress
28.6%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Grand Rapids

The heaviest input here is economic stress at 6.7/10. That part is specific to this tract, computed from its own rent, income, and poverty figures. Statewide and court-level factors such as eviction-process speed and rent-control exposure are inherited from Grand Rapids eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Kent County average of 5.7 and above the Michigan statewide average of 5.7. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

This tract overlaps land the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation redlined in the 1930s, a dominant grade of D ("Hazardous") across 47% of the tract. Redlining cut off mortgage credit to Black, immigrant, and working-class blocks, and those areas still tend to carry higher rent burden and eviction filings today.

The tract is White and Hispanic or Latino and ranks around the 71st 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.

For a landlord, this is a tract where process discipline pays off. Clean paperwork and steady screening keep the elevated risk manageable.

Frequently asked

About tract 26081001500

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 26081001500?

Census tract 26081001500 in Grand Rapids scores 5.7/10 (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 26081001500?

Median gross rent is $1,039/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 63% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 26081001500?

26.9% of residents in tract 26081001500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,844.

How socially vulnerable is tract 26081001500?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 71th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 87th, household 42th, minority 72th, housing 42th.

What share of households in tract 26081001500 struggle to pay rent?

About 17.9% 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. 12.4% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 26081001500 compare to Grand Rapids overall?

Tract 26081001500 scores 5.7/10, higher than the parent city of Grand Rapids at 3.5/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Grand Rapids eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 26081001500 historically redlined?

Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of D. 47% 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 Grand Rapids

Top eight tracts in Grand Rapids ranked by composite eviction-risk score.