Within neighborhood
50
th percentile
Moderate
Neighborhood · Ranked #18,240 of 84,120 nationally
West Bethlehem Eviction Risk: Moderate
Tract 42077009500 · Lehigh County, PA · pop 4,871 · neighborhood within 0.3 mi
Tract 42077009500, home to 4,871 residents in the West Bethlehem neighborhood of Bethlehem, scores 6.7/10 for landlord eviction risk. It lands near the 90th percentile nationally for landlord eviction risk.
About 49% of renters carry a rent burden of 30% of income or higher, a severe level, and 12% are severely burdened at 50% or more. The typical renter pays about $1,230 a month while the average household earns $68,590 a year, roughly 22% of income at the averages. About 53% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.
Risk score
5.5
Moderate
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 26%
Stable renters 27%
Owners 47%
Tract context
Occupied units2,080
Renter share52.9%
SVI overall0.76
Poverty rate17.3%
Median income$68,590
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within parent city
61
th percentile
Elevated
Within county
68
th percentile
Elevated
Within state
81
th percentile
High
Geographic context
Risk heat across Bethlehem and the region
Centroid at 40.6206, -75.3893 · click any tract to drill in
Why West Bethlehem scores 5.5
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Bethlehem
5.5
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
5.4
State political climate
Pennsylvania legislature & governorship
3.4
Economic stress
17.3% poverty · this tract
4.3
Supply constraint
$1,230 rent vs county FMR
3.2
Rent control risk
Inherited from Bethlehem
7.1
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
3.5
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Bethlehem
9.1
Housing court bias
Inherited from Bethlehem
7.1
How West Bethlehem compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 76
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 77%Socioeconomic
- 51%Household composition
- 68%Racial/ethnic minority
- 73%Housing & transportation
Historical context · 1930s redlining
HOLC grade: B: Still Desirable
This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade B meant middle-class areas with mortgage access. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.
- 0%Grade A
- 47%Grade B
- 8%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)
- 404Total filings over 7 yrs
- 6.48%Avg annual filing rate
- 9.3%Peak (2006)
- 79Filings in 2006 (latest validated)
Filings climbed 23% over the past 7 months.
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in West Bethlehem
What moves this score most is tenant organizing strength at 9.1/10. 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 Bethlehem eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.
Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Lehigh County average of 5.8 and above the Pennsylvania statewide average of 5.4. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.
Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 404 eviction filings here over 7 tracked years, with about 6.5% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 9.3% of renter households in 2006.
HOLC surveyors mapped this tract in the 1930s with a dominant grade of B ("Still Desirable"), above the redlined D tier. The grading still shaped decades of lending and development in the surrounding area.
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 42077009500
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 42077009500?
Census tract 42077009500 in the West Bethlehem neighborhood scores 5.5/10 (Moderate 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 42077009500?
Median gross rent is $1,230/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 49% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 42077009500?
17.3% of residents in tract 42077009500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 4,871.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 42077009500?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 76th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 77th, household 51th, minority 68th, housing 73th.
Q5
Is tract 42077009500 considered part of West Bethlehem?
Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 42077009500 fall within West Bethlehem (neighborhood centroid within 0.3 miles, OSM data).
Q6
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 42077009500?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 404 eviction filings across 7 validated years in tract 42077009500 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 6.48% of renter households, peaking at 9.3% in 2006. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q7
How does tract 42077009500 compare to Bethlehem overall?
Tract 42077009500 scores 5.5/10, higher than the parent city of Bethlehem at 4.2/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Bethlehem eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Q8
Was tract 42077009500 historically redlined?
Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of B. 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 Bethlehem
Top eight tracts in Bethlehem ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
Tract · PA
Sayre Park
7.1
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · PA
Clearfield Terrace
7
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · PA
Historic South Bethlehem
6.9
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · PA
Historic Bethlehem
6.7
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · PA
Elliott Heights
6.3
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · PA
South Side
5.6
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · PA
Central Bethlehem
5.5
/ 10 · Elevated
Tract · PA
Historic South Bethlehem
5.4
/ 10 · Moderate
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