Neighborhood · Ranked #9,878 of 84,120 nationally

Hilltop Plaza Eviction Risk: Elevated , Blacksburg

Tract 51121020702 · Montgomery County, VA · pop 3,894 · neighborhood within 1.2 mi

Census tract 51121020702 runs through the Hilltop Plaza area of Blacksburg. With 3,894 residents, it scores 6.9/10 for landlords. That is riskier than about 93% of US census tracts.

Rent eats 30% or more of income for 39% of renter households, a high level, and 25% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average gross rent is $1,206 monthly, set against $39,461 in average yearly household income, roughly 37% of income at the averages. Renters make up 71% of occupied homes, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score

6.2

Elevated

Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 28% Stable renters 43% Owners 29%

Tract context

Occupied units1,658

Renter share70.7%

SVI overall0.40

Poverty rate36.4%

Median income$39,461

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Blacksburg and the region

Centroid at 37.2009, -80.3775 · click any tract to drill in

Why Hilltop Plaza scores 6.2

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Blacksburg

5.8

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

5.3

State political climate

Virginia legislature & governorship

3.2

Economic stress

36.4% poverty · this tract

9.1

Supply constraint

$1,206 rent vs county FMR

4.8

Rent control risk

Inherited from Blacksburg

9.4

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

3.2

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Blacksburg

9.7

Housing court bias

Inherited from Blacksburg

9.5

How Hilltop Plaza compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 40

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

52%Socioeconomic
4%Household composition
30%Racial/ethnic minority
76%Housing & transportation

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.

12.1%Housing insecurity
8.8%Utility-shutoff threat
16.6%Food insecurity
14.8%SNAP enrollment
10.6%Transit barriers
8.9%No health insurance
20.3%Frequent mental distress
30.0%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in Hilltop Plaza

The score leans hardest on tenant organizing strength at 9.7/10. 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 Blacksburg eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Montgomery County average of 6.0 and above the Virginia statewide average of 5.3. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

The tract is predominantly White and ranks around the 40th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. That is a middle-of-the-pack reading for social vulnerability.

In CDC survey modeling, about 12.1% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 8.8% 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 51121020702

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 51121020702?

Census tract 51121020702 in the Hilltop Plaza neighborhood scores 6.2/10 (Elevated tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.

What is the average rent in tract 51121020702?

Median gross rent is $1,206/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 39% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 51121020702?

36.4% of residents in tract 51121020702 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 3,894.

How socially vulnerable is tract 51121020702?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 40th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 52th, household 4th, minority 30th, housing 76th.

Is tract 51121020702 considered part of Hilltop Plaza?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 51121020702 fall within Hilltop Plaza (neighborhood centroid within 1.2 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 51121020702 struggle to pay rent?

About 12.1% 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. 8.8% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 51121020702 compare to Blacksburg overall?

Tract 51121020702 scores 6.2/10, higher than the parent city of Blacksburg at 3.7/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Blacksburg eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Sibling tracts

Highest-risk tracts in Blacksburg

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