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Neighborhood · Kent, WA

Downtown Eviction Risk: Elevated

1 census tracts · pop 4,871 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 6.9/10 · range 6.9–6.9

Downtown is a one-tract neighborhood of Kent, WA, population 4,871. That produces an Eviction Risk Score of 6.9/10, Elevated tier. Cost burden runs 64% against 32.4% citywide, putting Downtown 31.8% over its own city.

30% are severely burdened, paying half their income or more in rent. That cohort has no absorption capacity for an unexpected bill, and it is where non-payment filings originate. The strongest single driver of the headline number is tenant-organizing strength at 8.5/10.

Well under the midpoint is economic stress, at 1.5/10. Court records for this tract carry 334 eviction filings.

Sitting well above the midpoint is rent-regulation exposure at 7.5/10. The worst year on record was 2007, when filings touched 11.9% of renter households. The most recent observed rate, 2.7% in 2013, is well off that peak.

That places it #13 of 22 neighborhoods in Kent. The closest comparables inside the same city are Morning Sun and Shadowbrook Ridge. Social vulnerability runs high at 8/10, concentrating the disaster- and displacement-exposure this model treats as a lagging risk input.

Poverty sits at 6%, low enough that arrears here usually reflect a specific shock rather than a structural income gap. Average gross rent runs $1,996, close to the Kent average.

Because the boundary contains one tract, 6.9/10 is simultaneously the area figure and the address-level figure. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.

Risk score
6.9
Elevated
1 tracts · population-weighted
Downtown vs Kent How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
% of income on rent
64.2% +98%
Kent: 32.4%
Average gross rent
$1,996 +5%
Kent: $1,909
Average HH income
$90,833 +0%
Kent: $90,416
Poverty rate
6.0% -44%
Kent: 10.6%
Renter share
37.5% -12%
Kent: 42.8%
Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Downtown and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 1 tracts span score 6.9–6.9

Why Downtown scores 6.9

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 6.0–6.0 across tracts
6.0
Rent control risk
64% of income on rent · Range 7.5–7.5 across tracts
7.5
Eviction process difficulty
State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 5.8–5.8 across tracts
5.8
Tenant organizing strength
38% renter households · Range 8.5–8.5 across tracts
8.5
Housing court bias
County bench composition · Range 6.4–6.4 across tracts
6.4
Economic stress
6.0% below poverty line · Range 1.5–1.5 across tracts
1.5
Supply constraint
Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 2.5–2.5 across tracts
2.5
Risk score comparison

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

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Downtown score vs. parent city, state, U.S.Downtown: 6.96.9DowntownNeighborhoodParent city: 6.66.6Parent cityhost cityState: 6.16.1Stateavg in stateU.S.: 5.15.1U.S.national avgU.S. avg = 5.0
Census tracts

1 tracts in Downtown

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

Tract Score Pop % over 30% on rent Average rent
53033029205 6.9 4,871 64% $1,996
Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 77

Pop-weighted across 1 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 66%ile
Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden
Household characteristics 71%ile
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority 78%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport 77%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab

Court-record eviction history in Downtown

Aggregated across 1 validated constituent tract. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

  • 334Total filings (sum)
  • 5.69%Avg annual filing rate
  • 11.9%Peak year (2007)
  • 2.71%Latest filed (2013)
Frequently asked

About Downtown

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for Downtown?

Downtown scores 6.9/10 (Elevated tier) across 1 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 Downtown compare to Kent overall?

Downtown scores 0.3 points higher than Kent overall (6.6/10). Renters spend 64% of income on rent vs 32% citywide. Average rent: $1,996 vs $1,909.
Q3

What is the average rent in Downtown?

Average gross rent in Downtown is $1,996/month (pop-weighted across 1 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 64% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4

What percentage of Downtown residents are renters?

38% of Downtown households are renter-occupied (vs 43% in Kent). The neighborhood has 4,871 residents.
Q5

Is Downtown a high social-vulnerability area?

Downtown sits in the 77th 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

How safe is Downtown for landlords?

Downtown carries a elevated-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (6.9/10). Pop-weighted across 1 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Kent as a whole (6.6/10), this neighborhood is higher-risk.
Q7

What is the demographic breakdown of Downtown?

Downtown has 4,824 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (32.9%), Hispanic / Latino (21.1%), Black (non-Hispanic) (17.7%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Downtown

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Kent

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Downtown.

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