Within neighborhood
100
th percentile
Very High
Neighborhood · Ranked #46,312 of 84,120 nationally
Colonial Lakes Eviction Risk: Lower , Mercerville
Tract 34021003100 · Mercer County, NJ · pop 4,281 · neighborhood within 0.6 mi
The Elevated-tier score of 6.6/10 for census tract 34021003100 reflects conditions in the Colonial Lakes neighborhood of Mercerville, New Jersey. That is riskier than roughly 88% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.
Rent eats 30% or more of income for 48% of renter households, a severe level, and 29% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $1,327 monthly, set against $78,068 in average yearly household income, roughly 20% of income at the averages. About 32% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
Risk score
3.7
Lower
Confidence 80% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 16%
Stable renters 17%
Owners 67%
Tract context
Occupied units1,669
Renter share32.4%
SVI overall0.66
Poverty rate9.6%
Median income$78,068
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within county
52
th percentile
Moderate
Within state
51
th percentile
Moderate
National
45
th percentile
Moderate
Geographic context
Risk heat across Mercerville and the region
Centroid at 40.2496, -74.7399 · click any tract to drill in
Why Colonial Lakes scores 3.7
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Mercerville
6.8
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
7.0
State political climate
New Jersey legislature & governorship
6.8
Economic stress
9.6% poverty · this tract
2.4
Supply constraint
$1,327 rent vs county FMR
1.5
Rent control risk
Inherited from Mercerville
6.8
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
5.0
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Mercerville
4.0
Housing court bias
Inherited from Mercerville
5.0
How Colonial Lakes compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 66
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 46%Socioeconomic
- 89%Household composition
- 60%Racial/ethnic minority
- 58%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.
- 0%Grade A
- 11%Grade B
- 20%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.
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)
- 127Total filings over 6 yrs
- 3.79%Avg annual filing rate
- 5.0%Peak (2016)
- 17Filings in 2018 (latest validated)
Filings dropped 26% over the past 6 months.
Comparable tracts
Census tracts with similar eviction risk
Within Colonial Lakes. 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.
- 13.5%Housing insecurity
- 7.3%Utility-shutoff threat
- 14.9%Food insecurity
- 8.5%SNAP enrollment
- 7.6%Transit barriers
- 12.1%No health insurance
- 15.7%Frequent mental distress
- 23.6%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Colonial Lakes
What moves this score most is rent-control risk at 6.8/10. 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 Mercerville, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.
Set against its neighbors, this tract scores about the same as the Mercer County average of 6.7 and in line with the New Jersey statewide average of 6.6. Within its own county it reads on the safer side for landlords.
HOLC surveyors mapped this tract in the 1930s with a dominant grade of C ("Declining"), above the redlined D tier. The grading still shaped decades of lending and development in the surrounding area.
Princeton eviction risk's Eviction Lab logged 127 eviction filings here over 6 tracked years, with about 3.8% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 5.0% of renter households in 2016.
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 34021003100
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 34021003100?
Census tract 34021003100 in the Colonial Lakes neighborhood scores 3.7/10 (Lower 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 34021003100?
Median gross rent is $1,327/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 48% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 34021003100?
9.6% of residents in tract 34021003100 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 4,281.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 34021003100?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 66th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 46th, household 89th, minority 60th, housing 58th.
Q5
Is tract 34021003100 considered part of Colonial Lakes?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 34021003100 fall within Colonial Lakes (neighborhood centroid within 0.6 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 34021003100?
Princeton eviction risk Eviction Lab recorded 127 eviction filings across 6 validated years in tract 34021003100 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 3.79% of renter households, peaking at 5.0% in 2016. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
What share of households in tract 34021003100 struggle to pay rent?
About 13.5% 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. 7.3% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q8
How does tract 34021003100 compare to Mercerville overall?
Tract 34021003100 scores 3.7/10, lower than the parent city of Mercerville at 7.1/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Mercerville; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q9
Was tract 34021003100 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. 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.
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