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Neighborhood · Seattle, WA

Meridian Eviction Risk: Elevated

7 census tracts · pop 27,414 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 7.5/10 · range 6.9–8

Meridian spans 7 census tracts of Seattle, WA and houses 27,414 people. Scored across those inputs it reaches 7.5/10, placing it in the Elevated tier. Against a Seattle baseline of 27.4%, 44% of renters here cross the 30%-of-income line.

The strongest single driver of the headline number is rent-regulation exposure at 9/10. On the high side is tenant-organizing strength at 9/10.

22% 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. Sitting well above the midpoint is eviction-process difficulty at 8.5/10. Internally this is not one market. Tract scores span 6.9 to 8, so two buildings inside the same boundary can carry materially different risk.

Filings are well documented here: 93 across 5 observed tracts. Filing activity peaked in 2011 at 1.3% of renter households.

The most recent observed rate, 0.3% in 2013, is well off that peak. Among the 65 mapped neighborhoods of Seattle, it ranks #34 by risk, the middle third. Against average income of $139,646, annual rent is only 17%, a wide affordability cushion.

Average gross rent runs $2,022, close to the Seattle average. 50% of occupied units are renter-occupied.

Underwrite the address, not the area: with 1.1 points between its best and worst tract, the per-tract table below is the operative number. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.

Risk score
7.5
Elevated
7 tracts · population-weighted
Meridian vs Seattle How this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
% of income on rent
44.0% +61%
Seattle: 27.4%
Average gross rent
$2,022 0%
Seattle: $2,030
Average HH income
$139,646 +14%
Seattle: $121,984
Poverty rate
7.1% -28%
Seattle: 9.9%
Renter share
50.4% -10%
Seattle: 56.3%
Peer neighborhoods

Neighborhoods with similar eviction risk

Same county, closest by Eviction Risk Score.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Meridian and the region

Click any tract to drill in · 7 tracts span score 6.9–8

Why Meridian 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 9.5–9.5 across tracts
9.5
Rent control risk
44% of income on rent · Range 9.0–9.0 across tracts
9.0
Eviction process difficulty
State notice requirements & court backlog · Range 8.5–8.5 across tracts
8.5
Tenant organizing strength
50% renter households · Range 9.0–9.0 across tracts
9.0
Housing court bias
County bench composition · Range 8.5–8.5 across tracts
8.5
Economic stress
7.1% below poverty line · Range 1.0–2.6 across tracts
1.8
Supply constraint
Rent-to-FMR gap & zoning friction · Range 1.8–4.0 across tracts
2.6
Risk score comparison

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

Eviction Risk Score (0–10 scale).

Meridian score vs. parent city, state, U.S.7.5MeridianNeighborhood7.9Parent cityhost city6.1Stateavg in state5.1U.S.national avgU.S. avg = 5.0
Variance across tracts

How uniformly does eviction risk play out in Meridian?

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

Score distribution
0246810
Spread of 1.1 points from 6.9 to 8. 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

7 tracts in Meridian

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

Tract↕ Score↕ Pop↕ % over 30% on rent↕ Average rent↕
53033003601 8 3,641 43% $2,056
53033005000 7.8 4,467 52% $2,015
53033004500 7.6 3,676 37% $2,402
53033004901 7.4 4,067 42% $1,805
53033005100 7.3 3,791 44% $1,965
53033004600 7.2 3,625 32% $2,017
53033003500 6.9 4,147 55% $1,930
Social Vulnerability Index

CDC SVI percentile: 22

Pop-weighted across 7 tracts. Higher = more vulnerable to disaster, displacement, and rent shocks. Source: CDC/ATSDR SVI 2022.

Socioeconomic status 22%ile
Poverty, unemployment, no-HS-diploma, housing cost burden
Household characteristics 9%ile
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority 39%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport 60%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab

Court-record eviction history in Meridian

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

Historic baseline (2000–2018)

  • 93Total filings (sum)
  • 0.36%Avg annual filing rate
  • 1.3%Peak year (2011)
  • 0.29%Latest filed (2013)
Frequently asked

About Meridian

Q1

What is the eviction-risk score for Meridian?

Meridian scores 7.5/10 (Elevated tier) across 7 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 Meridian compare to Seattle overall?

Meridian scores 0.4 points lower than Seattle overall (7.9/10). Renters spend 44% of income on rent vs 27% citywide. Average rent: $2,022 vs $2,030.
Q3

What is the average rent in Meridian?

Average gross rent in Meridian is $2,022/month (pop-weighted across 7 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 44% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4

What percentage of Meridian residents are renters?

50% of Meridian households are renter-occupied (vs 56% in Seattle). The neighborhood has 27,414 residents.
Q5

Is Meridian a high social-vulnerability area?

Meridian sits in the 22nd percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (low vulnerability). The index combines poverty, unemployment, household composition, racial/ethnic minority share, and housing/transportation factors across all US census tracts.
Q6

Which tracts in Meridian have the highest eviction risk?

The highest-risk constituent tract in Meridian is census tract 53033003601 (score 8/10). Across the 7 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 6.9 to 8, a spread of 1.1 points.
Q7

How safe is Meridian for landlords?

Meridian carries a elevated-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (7.5/10). Pop-weighted across 7 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Seattle as a whole (7.9/10), this neighborhood is lower-risk.
Q8

What is the demographic breakdown of Meridian?

Meridian has 26,992 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (74.7%), Asian (non-Hispanic) (8.7%), Hispanic / Latino (7.9%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
Nearby

Other neighborhoods near Meridian

Sibling neighborhoods

Other neighborhoods inside Seattle

Same parent city, ranked by score similarity to Meridian.

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