Census Tract · Ranked #1,455 of 84,120 nationally

Plainfield Eviction Risk: High

Tract 34039039302 · Union County, NJ · pop 3,176

Here is how census tract 34039039302, in Plainfield eviction risk, looks to a landlord: a 7.9/10 eviction-risk score (Elevated tier) across a population of 3,176. That ranks it in the top 1% of US census tracts for landlord eviction risk, among the very hardest places in the country to operate.

76% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a severe level, and 33% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $1,522 a month against an average household income of $48,418 a year, roughly 38% of income at the averages. Renters make up 100% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score

8.3

High

Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 76% Stable renters 24% Owners 0%

Tract context

Occupied units951

Renter share100.0%

SVI overall1.00

Poverty rate32.8%

Median income$48,418

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Plainfield and the region

Centroid at 40.6167, -74.4210 · click any tract to drill in

Why Plainfield scores 8.3

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Plainfield

7.1

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

6.8

State political climate

New Jersey legislature & governorship

6.8

Economic stress

32.8% poverty · this tract

8.2

Supply constraint

$1,522 rent vs county FMR

2.1

Rent control risk

Inherited from Plainfield

7.8

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

6.7

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Plainfield

9.5

Housing court bias

Inherited from Plainfield

7.6

How Plainfield compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 100

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

100%Socioeconomic
87%Household composition
94%Racial/ethnic minority
96%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
0%Grade B
26%Grade C
9%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.

44.1%Housing insecurity
26.8%Utility-shutoff threat
56.3%Food insecurity
43.9%SNAP enrollment
27.5%Transit barriers
47.6%No health insurance
22.7%Frequent mental distress
43.1%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Plainfield

The heaviest input here is tenant organizing strength at 9.5/10. 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 Plainfield eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

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

The tract is predominantly Hispanic or Latino and ranks around the 100th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. High vulnerability tends to track with higher eviction-filing rates when rents climb.

In CDC survey modeling, about 44.1% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 26.8% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

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 34039039302

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 34039039302?

Census tract 34039039302 in Plainfield scores 8.3/10 (High tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.

What is the average rent in tract 34039039302?

Median gross rent is $1,522/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 76% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 34039039302?

32.8% of residents in tract 34039039302 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,176.

How socially vulnerable is tract 34039039302?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 100th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 100th, household 87th, minority 94th, housing 96th.

What share of households in tract 34039039302 struggle to pay rent?

About 44.1% 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. 26.8% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 34039039302 compare to Plainfield overall?

Tract 34039039302 scores 8.3/10, right in line with the parent city of Plainfield at 8.2/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Plainfield eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 34039039302 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. 9% 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 Plainfield

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