University Heights Eviction Risk: High , Newark

Against the Essex County average of 7.3, this tract reads riskier for landlords by 2.6 points. On the high side, court filing pressure reads 9.7/10.

The poverty rate is 42%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than filing counts suggest. 86% of occupied units are rented, so comparables are plentiful and vacancy risk is low, but a mispriced renewal loses the tenant to a building nearby. At $905 a month, rents run 35% under what the rest of Newark commands.

Set annual rent against average income of $30,288 and the ratio lands at 36%, above the conventional 30% ceiling. Sitting well above the midpoint, rent-regulation exposure reads 9/10.

21% are severely burdened past the 50% mark. That cohort absorbs no shock: one repair bill or one cut shift converts straight into arrears. Housing insecurity runs 25.7% against 14.2% nationally.

55% of renter households cross the 30%-of-income line, higher than the Essex County average of 50.3%. The filing record is not thin: 1,631 evictions over 6 years of observation.

Inability to pay a utility bill runs 17.3% against 9.2% nationally. Utility arrears usually lead rent arrears by a month or two.

Tract-level figures come from the ACS 5-year release and are rebuilt whenever that, the court-record feed, or the statutory ledger behind the score changes.