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Neighborhood · Burien, WA

Highline Eviction Risk: Elevated

5 census tracts · pop 24,575 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 7.5/10 · range 6.8–8.2

Highline spans 5 census tracts of Burien, WA and houses 24,575 people. It carries an Eviction Risk Score of 7.5/10, in the Elevated tier. Against a Burien baseline of 30.9%, 52% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line.

The strongest single driver of the headline number is tenant-organizing strength at 8.7/10. On the softer side is supply constraint, at 1.5/10.

Severe burden reaches 21%. A tenant at that level absorbs no shock: one cut shift or one repair bill converts directly into arrears. Scores across the 5 constituent tracts range from 6.8 to 8.2. A 1.4-point internal spread means block-level underwriting beats area-level here.

Sitting well above the midpoint is rent-regulation exposure at 7.8/10. Court records carry 1,222 eviction filings across its 5 observed tracts. The worst year on record was 2013, when filings touched 6.2% of renter households.

That places it #3 of 7 neighborhoods in Burien. Judgments average 1.5% of renter households a year, the share of filings that actually convert to an order. Social vulnerability runs high at 8.2/10, concentrating the disaster- and displacement-exposure this model treats as a lagging risk input.

Average gross rent runs $1,738, close to the Burien average.

Underwrite the address, not the area: with 1.4 points between its best and worst tract, the per-tract table below is the operative number. Scores move when the ACS release, the court-record feed, or the statute ledger behind them moves.

Risk score
7.5
Elevated
5 tracts · population-weighted
Highline vs Burien How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
% of income on rent
51.5% +67%
Burien: 30.9%
Average gross rent
$1,738 -2%
Burien: $1,782
Average HH income
$88,306 -3%
Burien: $90,597
Poverty rate
9.7% -7%
Burien: 10.4%
Renter share
46.0% +6%
Burien: 43.4%
Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Highline and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 5 tracts span score 6.8–8.2

Why Highline scores 7.5

9 axes · pop-weighted · 1 = landlord-friendly
State political climate
legislature & governorship · Range 6.0–6.0 across tracts
6.0
Regional political climate
County-level mix · 2024 presidential margin · Range 7.6–7.6 across tracts
7.6
Local political climate
Parent city governance · Range 6.0–6.3 across tracts
6.2
Rent control risk
52% of income on rent · Range 7.0–9.0 across tracts
7.8
Eviction process difficulty
State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 5.5–6.1 across tracts
5.9
Tenant organizing strength
46% renter households · Range 8.0–9.4 across tracts
8.7
Housing court bias
County bench composition · Range 6.2–7.2 across tracts
6.6
Economic stress
9.7% below poverty line · Range 1.3–4.3 across tracts
2.4
Supply constraint
Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.0–1.9 across tracts
1.5
Risk score comparison

Highline vs. parent city, state, U.S.

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Highline score vs. parent city, state, U.S.Highline: 7.57.5HighlineNeighborhoodParent city: 6.66.6Parent cityhost cityState: 6.16.1Stateavg in stateU.S.: 5.15.1U.S.national avgU.S. avg = 5.0
Variance across tracts

How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Highline?

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 6.8 to 8.2. 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

5 tracts in Highline

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

Tract Score Pop % over 30% on rent Average rent
53033028100 8.2 3,111 49% $1,500
53033027300 8.1 6,542 35% $1,800
53033027400 7.3 5,193 51% $1,617
53033028000 7.1 4,017 52% $1,821
53033029003 6.8 5,712 72% $1,850
Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 80

Pop-weighted across 5 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 73%ile
Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden
Household characteristics 63%ile
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority 76%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport 80%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab

Court-record eviction history in Highline

Aggregated across 5 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

  • 1,222Total filings (sum)
  • 2.79%Avg annual filing rate
  • 6.2%Peak year (2013)
  • 1.84%Latest filed (2013)
Frequently asked

About Highline

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for Highline?

Highline scores 7.5/10 (Elevated tier) across 5 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 Highline compare to Burien overall?

Highline scores 0.9 points higher than Burien overall (6.6/10). Renters spend 52% of income on rent vs 31% citywide. Average rent: $1,738 vs $1,782.
Q3

What is the average rent in Highline?

Average gross rent in Highline is $1,738/month (pop-weighted across 5 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 52% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4

What percentage of Highline residents are renters?

46% of Highline households are renter-occupied (vs 43% in Burien). The neighborhood has 24,575 residents.
Q5

Is Highline a high social-vulnerability area?

Highline sits in the 80th 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 Highline have the highest eviction risk?

The highest-risk constituent tract in Highline is census tract 53033028100 (score 8.2/10). Across the 5 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 6.8 to 8.2, a spread of 1.4 points.
Q7

How safe is Highline for landlords?

Highline carries a elevated-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (7.5/10). Pop-weighted across 5 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Burien as a whole (6.6/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q8

What is the demographic breakdown of Highline?

Highline has 24,720 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (32.5%), Hispanic / Latino (24.4%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (22.3%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Highline

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Burien

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Highline.

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