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Neighborhood · Ranked #237 of 84,120 nationally

University Heights Eviction Risk: High , Newark

Tract 34013003500 · Essex County, NJ · pop 2,909 · neighborhood within 1.5 mi

The University Heights neighborhood of Newark anchors census tract 34013003500, which lands at 8.6/10 on landlord eviction risk. That puts it among the highest-scoring tracts in the entire country, the top 1% nationally for landlord eviction difficulty.

About 76% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a severe level, and 67% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $1,593 a month while the average household earns $33,239 a year, roughly 58% of income at the averages. Renters make up 81% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score
9.2
High
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 61% Stable renters 19% Owners 20%
Tract context
Occupied units922
Renter share80.8%
SVI overall0.90
Poverty rate60.5%
Median income$33,239

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.
Within neighborhood
97 th percentile
Rank, 97th percentileLowHigh
#2 of 31 tracts In University Heights
Very High
Within parent city
83 th percentile
Rank, 83rd percentileLowHigh
#16 of 88 tracts In Newark
High
Within county
93 th percentile
Rank, 93rd percentileLowHigh
#15 of 211 tracts In Essex County
Very High
Within state
99 th percentile
Rank, 99th percentileLowHigh
#18 of 2,175 tracts In New Jersey
Very High
Geographic context

Risk heat across Newark and the region

Centroid at 40.7333, -74.2117 · click any tract to drill in

Why University Heights scores 9.2

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly
Local political climate
Inherited from Newark
8.5
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.8
State political climate
New Jersey legislature & governorship
6.8
Economic stress
60.5% poverty · this tract
10.0
Supply constraint
$1,593 rent vs county FMR
2.4
Rent control risk
Inherited from Newark
9.0
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
8.5
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Newark
8.0
Housing court bias
Inherited from Newark
8.0

How University Heights compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.
University Heights risk score vs. parent city / county / stateThis tract: 9.29.2This tracttract 003500Newark: 9.09.0Newarkparent cityCounty: 5.85.8Countyavg tract in countyState: 4.34.3Stateavg tract in state
CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 90

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

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.

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

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

  • 1,122Total filings over 6 yrs
  • 36.09%Avg annual filing rate
  • 36.5%Peak (2017)
  • 188Filings in 2018 (latest validated)
Filings by year 2013 to 2018
Year-by-year eviction filings in tract 340130035002013: 167 filings (34.50/100 renter HHs)2014: 177 filings (36.57/100 renter HHs)2015: 192 filings (39.67/100 renter HHs)2016: 196 filings (35.38/100 renter HHs)2017: 202 filings (36.46/100 renter HHs)2018: 188 filings (33.94/100 renter HHs)
Filings stayed roughly flat over the past 6 months.
Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Within University Heights. 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.

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in University Heights

The heaviest input here is economic stress at $1/10. 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 Newark eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Essex County average of 7.3 and above the New Jersey statewide average of 6.6. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

In CDC survey modeling, about 39.8% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 31.0% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

Princeton eviction risk's Eviction Lab logged 1,122 eviction filings here over 6 tracked years, with about 36.1% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 36.5% of renter households in 2017.

For a landlord underwriting a deal here, treat timelines and legal costs as the real risk: Newark eviction risk sits in territory where contested cases drag and tenant defenses are well organized, so airtight notices and screening matter more than usual.

Frequently asked

About tract 34013003500

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 34013003500?

Census tract 34013003500 in the University Heights neighborhood scores 9.2/10 (High 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 34013003500?

Median gross rent is $1,593/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 76% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3

What is the poverty rate in tract 34013003500?

60.5% of residents in tract 34013003500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,909.
Q4

How socially vulnerable is tract 34013003500?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 90th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 89th, household 74th, minority 99th, housing 75th.
Q5

Is tract 34013003500 considered part of University Heights?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 34013003500 fall within University Heights (neighborhood centroid within 1.5 miles, OSM data).
Q6

How many evictions are filed each year in tract 34013003500?

Princeton eviction risk Eviction Lab recorded 1,122 eviction filings across 6 validated years in tract 34013003500 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 36.09% of renter households, peaking at 36.5% in 2017. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7

What share of households in tract 34013003500 struggle to pay rent?

About 39.8% 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. 31.0% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8

How does tract 34013003500 compare to Newark overall?

Tract 34013003500 scores 9.2/10, right in line with the parent city of Newark at 9/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Newark eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q9

Was tract 34013003500 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. 100% 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 Newark

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

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