Neighborhood · Ranked #35,899 of 84,120 nationally

Third Ward Eviction Risk: Moderate , Grand Rapids

Tract 26081004200 · Kent County, MI · pop 3,876 · neighborhood within 1.2 mi

Landlord eviction risk in census tract 26081004200 (the Third Ward neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Michigan) comes in at 5.7/10, the Moderate tier. That is riskier than about 65% of US census tracts.

Rent eats 30% or more of income for 69% of renter households, a severe level, and 46% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $937 a month against an average household income of $70,203 a year, roughly 16% of income at the averages. About 24% of occupied units are renter-occupied.

Risk score

4.3

Moderate

Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 17% Stable renters 7% Owners 76%

Tract context

Occupied units1,756

Renter share24.3%

SVI overall0.40

Poverty rate12.8%

Median income$70,203

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Grand Rapids and the region

Centroid at 42.9195, -85.6395 · click any tract to drill in

Why Third Ward scores 4.3

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

12.8% poverty · this tract

3.2

Supply constraint

$937 rent vs county FMR

1.5

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 Third Ward compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 40

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

35%Socioeconomic
33%Household composition
58%Racial/ethnic minority
50%Housing & transportation

Historical context · 1930s redlining

HOLC grade: B: Still Desirable

This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade B meant middle-class areas with mortgage access. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.

0%Grade A
42%Grade B
34%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.

Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Within Third Ward. 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.

11.6%Housing insecurity
8.2%Utility-shutoff threat
13.0%Food insecurity
11.5%SNAP enrollment
7.7%Transit barriers
6.3%No health insurance
17.6%Frequent mental distress
25.5%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Third Ward

The heaviest input here is eviction process difficulty at 4.5/10. 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 Grand Rapids 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 Kent County average of 5.7 and in line with the Michigan statewide average of 5.7. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

HOLC surveyors mapped this tract in the 1930s with a dominant grade of B ("Still Desirable"), above the redlined D tier. The grading still shaped decades of lending and development in the surrounding area.

In CDC survey modeling, about 11.6% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 8.2% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

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

Frequently asked

About tract 26081004200

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 26081004200?

Census tract 26081004200 in the Third Ward neighborhood scores 4.3/10 (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 26081004200?

Median gross rent is $937/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 69% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 26081004200?

12.8% of residents in tract 26081004200 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,876.

How socially vulnerable is tract 26081004200?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 40th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 35th, household 33th, minority 58th, housing 50th.

Is tract 26081004200 considered part of Third Ward?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 26081004200 fall within Third Ward (neighborhood centroid within 1.2 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 26081004200 struggle to pay rent?

About 11.6% 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. 8.2% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 26081004200 compare to Grand Rapids overall?

Tract 26081004200 scores 4.3/10, 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 26081004200 historically redlined?

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

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