Belmont Eviction Risk: Moderate , Columbia

36% of renter households cross the 30%-of-income line, markedly below the Richland County average of 49.7%. Running cool, rent-regulation exposure reads 1/10. 24% are severely burdened past the 50% mark. That cohort absorbs no shock: one repair bill or one cut shift converts straight into arrears.

Set annual rent against average income of $43,319 and the ratio lands at 32%, above the conventional 30% ceiling. The poverty rate is 26%, which in this model reads as reduced rent-recovery odds after a judgment.

On the softer side, state political climate reads 2.1/10. Food insecurity runs 28.8% against 17.8% nationally. It sits 1.0 points above the Richland County average of 4.2.

Court records carry 351 eviction filings across 5 observed years. Inability to pay a utility bill runs 16.0% against 9.2% nationally. Utility arrears usually lead rent arrears by a month or two.

Filings peaked in 2014 at 24.9% of renter households. In a typical year about 17.5% of renter households face a filing.

Nationally it ranks #29,336 of 84,120 for landlord eviction difficulty. Social vulnerability reads 9.6/10 on the CDC index, a measure of exposure to housing and economic shocks.

Tract-level figures come from the ACS 5-year release and are rebuilt whenever that, the court-record feed, or the statutory ledger behind the score changes.