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Neighborhood · San Antonio, TX

Columbia Heights Eviction Risk: Moderate

9 census tracts · pop 34,568 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 5/10 · range 3.8–5.2

Columbia Heights is a 9-tract neighborhood of San Antonio, TX, population 34,568. It carries an Eviction Risk Score of 5/10, in the Moderate tier. The main counterweight is rent-regulation exposure, at 1/10.

Severe burden reaches 23%. A tenant at that level absorbs no shock: one cut shift or one repair bill converts directly into arrears. Internally this is not one market. Tract scores span 3.8 to 5.2, so two buildings inside the same boundary can carry materially different risk.

The poverty rate is 22%. Judgments in high-poverty tracts are collectible far less often than the filing statistics suggest. Against a San Antonio baseline of 32.0%, 38% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line.

Well under the midpoint is supply constraint, at 2.6/10. Filings are well documented here: 1,514 across 8 observed tracts.

Average gross rent is $1,145, 14% below the San Antonio average of $1,324. The worst year on record was 2007, when filings touched 14.9% of renter households.

On the softer side is housing-court posture, at 3/10. The most recent observed rate, 4.4% in 2008, is well off that peak. Among the 88 mapped neighborhoods of San Antonio, it ranks #15 by risk, the upper third.

For a like-for-like read, River Road and South Texas Medical Center score within a fraction of it. Social vulnerability runs high at 9/10, concentrating the disaster- and displacement-exposure this model treats as a lagging risk input. Annual rent works out to 26% of average household income of $52,315.

For a specific building, read the per-tract breakdown below rather than the 5 headline, because the internal range is too wide to average safely. Scores move when the ACS release, the court-record feed, or the statute ledger behind them moves.

Risk score
5
Moderate
9 tracts · population-weighted
Columbia Heights vs San Antonio How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
% of income on rent
37.7% +18%
San Antonio: 32.0%
Average gross rent
$1,145 -14%
San Antonio: $1,324
Average HH income
$52,315 -17%
San Antonio: $62,917
Poverty rate
21.6% +26%
San Antonio: 17.1%
Renter share
35.7% -25%
San Antonio: 47.8%
Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Columbia Heights and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 9 tracts span score 3.8–5.2

Why Columbia Heights scores 5

9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly
State political climate
legislature & governorship · Range 1.5–1.5 across tracts
1.5
Regional political climate
County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 5.9–5.9 across tracts
5.9
Local political climate
Parent city governance · Range 5.8–5.8 across tracts
5.8
Rent control risk
38% of income on rent · Range 1.0–1.0 across tracts
1.0
Eviction process difficulty
State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 3.5–3.5 across tracts
3.5
Tenant organizing strength
36% renter households · Range 4.0–4.0 across tracts
4.0
Housing court bias
County bench composition · Range 3.0–3.0 across tracts
3.0
Economic stress
21.6% below poverty line · Range 3.0–8.7 across tracts
5.4
Supply constraint
Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.7–5.0 across tracts
2.6
Risk score comparison

Columbia Heights vs. parent city, state, U.S.

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Columbia Heights score vs. parent city, state, U.S.5.0Columbia HeightsNeighborhood3.8Parent cityhost city3.6Stateavg in state5.1U.S.national avgU.S. avg = 5.0
Variance across tracts

How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Columbia Heights?

Left: distribution of constituent tract scores. Right: every tract as a heat square. Click any square to drill in.

Score distribution
0246810
Spread of 1.4 points from 3.8 to 5.2. Moderate variation across constituent tracts.
Tracts as heat grid
Each square = one census tract. Color tracks the same green→red ramp as the chloropleth map above.
Census tracts

9 tracts in Columbia Heights

Ranked highest-risk first. Click for per-tract detail.

Tract Score Pop % over 30% on rent Average rent
48029151100 5.2 6,651 42% $1,273
48029150400 5.2 4,212 38% $1,121
48029160901 5.2 2,777 50% $1,051
48029160300 5 5,795 26% $1,181
48029151000 5 3,391 62% $1,191
48029150600 4.9 4,388 50% $999
48029150501 4.6 4,042 24% $1,093
48029150502 4.3 3,312 15% $1,141
48029980002 3.8 , , ,
Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 89

Pop-weighted across 9 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 85%ile
Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden
Household characteristics 97%ile
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority 95%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport 47%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab

Court-record eviction history in Columbia Heights

Aggregated across 8 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

  • 1,514Total filings (sum)
  • 4.86%Avg annual filing rate
  • 14.9%Peak year (2007)
  • 4.34%Latest filed (2008)
Frequently asked

About Columbia Heights

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for Columbia Heights?

Columbia Heights scores 5/10 (Moderate tier) across 9 census tracts. The pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income and poverty signals.
Q2

How does Columbia Heights compare to San Antonio overall?

Columbia Heights scores 1.2 points higher than San Antonio overall (3.8/10). Renters spend 38% of income on rent vs 32% citywide. Average rent: $1,145 vs $1,324.
Q3

What is the average rent in Columbia Heights?

Average gross rent in Columbia Heights is $1,145/month (pop-weighted across 9 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 38% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4

What percentage of Columbia Heights residents are renters?

36% of Columbia Heights households are renter-occupied (vs 48% in San Antonio). The neighborhood has 34,568 residents.
Q5

Is Columbia Heights a high social-vulnerability area?

Columbia Heights sits in the 89th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (highly vulnerable). The index combines poverty, unemployment, household composition, racial/ethnic minority share, and housing/transportation factors across all US census tracts.
Q6

Which tracts in Columbia Heights have the highest eviction risk?

The highest-risk constituent tract in Columbia Heights is census tract 48029151100 (score 5.2/10). Across the 9 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 3.8 to 5.2, a spread of 1.4 points.
Q7

How safe is Columbia Heights for landlords?

Columbia Heights carries a moderate-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (5/10). Pop-weighted across 9 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to San Antonio as a whole (3.8/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8

What is the demographic breakdown of Columbia Heights?

Columbia Heights has 34,122 residents. Top groups: Hispanic / Latino (92.4%), White (non-Hispanic) (4.7%), Black (non-Hispanic) (2.5%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Columbia Heights

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside San Antonio

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Columbia Heights.

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