Neighborhood · Ranked #3,082 of 84,120 nationally

Lower West Side Eviction Risk: High , Buffalo

Tract 36029006904 · Erie County, NY · pop 2,442 · neighborhood within 0.5 mi

Census tract 36029006904 covers part of the Lower West Side area of Buffalo, NY, and scores 9.3/10 on landlord eviction risk. It is home to 2,442 residents. The dominant input is economic stress at 9.3/10.

Risk score

9.3

High

Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 35% Stable renters 40% Owners 25%

Tract context

Occupied units965

Renter share74.8%

SVI overall0.95

Poverty rate37.2%

Median income$51,830

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Buffalo and the region

Centroid at 42.9025, -78.8885 · click any tract to drill in

Why Lower West Side scores 9.3

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Buffalo

8.0

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

5.7

State political climate

New York legislature & governorship

7.3

Economic stress

37.2% poverty · this tract

9.3

Supply constraint

$1,125 rent vs county FMR

4.6

Rent control risk

Inherited from Buffalo

7.5

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

8.0

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Buffalo

7.5

Housing court bias

Inherited from Buffalo

7.5

How Lower West Side compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 95

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

91%Socioeconomic
85%Household composition
74%Racial/ethnic minority
92%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
4%Grade B
89%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.

Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Within Lower West Side. 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.

19.9%Housing insecurity
13.1%Utility-shutoff threat
26.2%Food insecurity
25.7%SNAP enrollment
14.1%Transit barriers
12.8%No health insurance
18.4%Frequent mental distress
31.5%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Lower West Side

Against the Erie County average of 6.8, this tract reads riskier for landlords by 2.5 points. The poverty rate is 37%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than filing counts suggest. The severe-burden share is 23%, and it is the single best predictor in this model of a filing that actually reaches judgment.

This is renter territory: 75% of occupied units are tenant-occupied. Sitting well above the midpoint, local political climate reads 8/10. Running hot, eviction-process difficulty reads 8/10.

SNAP participation runs 25.7% against 15.2% nationally. Food insecurity runs 26.2% against 17.8% nationally. In the 1930s the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation graded this ground C ("Definitely Declining"). Redlining cut off mortgage credit to whole blocks for decades, and the areas graded D still carry measurably lower ownership and higher rent burden today.

Nationally it ranks #3,082 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty. Social vulnerability reads 9.5/10 on the CDC index, a measure of exposure to housing and economic shocks.

Statewide the NY average is 7.7, so this tract runs 1.6 points hotter. Of its three components the housing type and transport measure is the most pressured.

Rent takes 30% or more of income for 47% of renters.

All figures here are ACS 5-year estimates for this tract, refreshed as the underlying releases land.

Frequently asked

About tract 36029006904

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 36029006904?

Census tract 36029006904 in the Lower West Side neighborhood scores 9.3/10 (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 36029006904?

Median gross rent is $1,125/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 47% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 36029006904?

37.2% of residents in tract 36029006904 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 2,442.

How socially vulnerable is tract 36029006904?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 95th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 91th, household 85th, minority 74th, housing 92th.

Is tract 36029006904 considered part of Lower West Side?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 36029006904 fall within Lower West Side (neighborhood centroid within 0.5 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 36029006904 struggle to pay rent?

About 19.9% 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. 13.1% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 36029006904 compare to Buffalo overall?

Tract 36029006904 scores 9.3/10, higher than the parent city of Buffalo at 7.9/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Buffalo eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 36029006904 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.

Sibling tracts

Highest-risk tracts in Buffalo

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