Within parent city
64
th percentile
Elevated
Census Tract · Ranked #4,782 of 84,120 nationally
Plainfield Eviction Risk: Elevated
Tract 34039039400 · Union County, NJ · pop 5,811
Plainfield in Union County anchors census tract 34039039400, which lands at 7.3/10 on landlord eviction risk. That is riskier than roughly 97% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.
Rent eats 30% or more of income for 46% of renter households, a severe level, and 20% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $1,645 a month against an average household income of $75,640 a year, roughly 26% of income at the averages. About 70% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
7
Elevated
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 32%
Stable renters 38%
Owners 30%
Tract context
Occupied units1,622
Renter share70.3%
SVI overall0.93
Poverty rate17.5%
Median income$75,640
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within county
79
th percentile
High
Within state
82
th percentile
High
National
94
th percentile
Very High
Geographic context
Risk heat across Plainfield and the region
Centroid at 40.6051, -74.4445 · click any tract to drill in
Why Plainfield scores 7
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal 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
17.5% poverty · this tract
4.4
Supply constraint
$1,645 rent vs county FMR
2.7
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: 93
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 97%Socioeconomic
- 88%Household composition
- 96%Racial/ethnic minority
- 61%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
- 3%Grade B
- 68%Grade C
- 24%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)
- 397Total filings over 4 yrs
- 12.78%Avg annual filing rate
- 17.7%Peak (2013)
- 86Filings in 2018 (latest validated)
Filings dropped 36% over the past 4 months.
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.
- 32.0%Housing insecurity
- 17.2%Utility-shutoff threat
- 38.5%Food insecurity
- 24.9%SNAP enrollment
- 17.8%Transit barriers
- 33.2%No health insurance
- 19.4%Frequent mental distress
- 34.0%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.
Princeton eviction risk's Eviction Lab logged 397 eviction filings here over 4 tracked years, with about 12.8% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 17.7% of renter households in 2013.
Part of this tract, about 24% of its area, sat in the redlined grade-D zone on 1930s HOLC maps, though its dominant grade was C ("Declining"). That lending history still correlates with present-day rent burden.
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 34039039400
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 34039039400?
Census tract 34039039400 in Plainfield scores 7/10 (Elevated 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 34039039400?
Median gross rent is $1,645/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 46% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 34039039400?
17.5% of residents in tract 34039039400 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 5,811.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 34039039400?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 93th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 97th, household 88th, minority 96th, housing 61th.
Q5
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 34039039400?
Princeton eviction risk Eviction Lab recorded 397 eviction filings across 4 validated years in tract 34039039400 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 12.78% of renter households, peaking at 17.7% in 2013. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q6
What share of households in tract 34039039400 struggle to pay rent?
About 32.0% 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. 17.2% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q7
How does tract 34039039400 compare to Plainfield overall?
Tract 34039039400 scores 7/10, lower than 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.
Q8
Was tract 34039039400 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. 24% 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.
Tract · NJ
34039039302
8.3
/ 10 · High
Tract · NJ
34039039301
8.2
/ 10 · High
Tract · NJ
34039039600
7.1
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · NJ
34039039200
7
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · NJ
34039039502
6.9
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · NJ
34039038800
6.7
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · NJ
34039039000
6.7
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · NJ
34039038900
6.5
/ 10 · Elevated
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