Neighborhood · Ranked #16,850 of 84,120 nationally

South Hills Eviction Risk: Moderate , Charleston

Tract 54039000900 · Kanawha County, WV · pop 1,127 · neighborhood within 0.8 mi

Eviction risk in South Hills in Charleston centers on tract 54039000900, which scores 4.6/10 (Moderate tier) and is home to 1,127 residents. It lands near the 24th percentile nationally for landlord eviction risk.

41% of renter households here spend at least 30% of income on rent, a severe level, and 5% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $374 a month against an average household income of $16,164 a year, roughly 28% of income at the averages. About 87% of occupied units are renter-occupied, a renter-majority tract.

Risk score

5.6

Moderate

Confidence 85% · 1–10 scale

Household mix · 100 hh

Burdened renters 36% Stable renters 51% Owners 13%

Tract context

Occupied units736

Renter share86.7%

SVI overall0.98

Poverty rate55.3%

Median income$16,164

Percentile rank

Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.

Geographic context

Risk heat across Charleston and the region

Centroid at 38.3515, -81.6353 · click any tract to drill in

Why South Hills scores 5.6

9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendly

Local political climate

Inherited from Charleston

3.5

Regional political climate

2024 county presidential margin

4.3

State political climate

West Virginia legislature & governorship

1.8

Economic stress

55.3% poverty · this tract

10.0

Supply constraint

$374 rent vs county FMR

1.0

Rent control risk

Inherited from Charleston

1.0

Eviction process difficulty

State law sets the calendar

2.0

Tenant organizing strength

Inherited from Charleston

2.5

Housing court bias

Inherited from Charleston

2.5

How South Hills compares

Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.

CDC Social Vulnerability Index

SVI percentile: 98

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

96%Socioeconomic
80%Household composition
56%Racial/ethnic minority
99%Housing & transportation

Historical context · 1930s redlining

HOLC grade: D: Hazardous (Redlined)

This tract sits within an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s. Grade D meant Black, immigrant, and poor neighborhoods systematically denied mortgage credit. These designations suppressed minority homeownership for generations and remain a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings and rent burden.

0%Grade A
2%Grade B
4%Grade C
40%Grade D · redlined

Source: Mapping Inequality (americanpanorama.org), 1935-1940 HOLC residential security maps, aggregated to 2020 census tracts by area share. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Comparable tracts

Census tracts with similar eviction risk

Within South Hills. Closest by Eviction Risk Score.

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.

26.8%Housing insecurity
28.1%Utility-shutoff threat
41.7%Food insecurity
51.5%SNAP enrollment
20.2%Transit barriers
14.0%No health insurance
25.1%Frequent mental distress
57.3%Any disability

Analysis

What drives eviction risk in South Hills

The score leans hardest on economic stress at $1/10. That part is specific to this tract, computed from its own rent, income, and poverty figures. Statewide and court-level factors such as eviction-process speed and rent-control exposure are inherited from Charleston eviction risk, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.

Set against its neighbors, this tract scores about the same as the Kanawha County average of 4.3 and in line with the West Virginia statewide average of 4.3. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.

In CDC survey modeling, about 26.8% of adults here said they could not pay rent or mortgage at some point in the past year, and 28.1% faced a utility shutoff threat, a common early warning before a filing.

This tract overlaps land the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation redlined in the 1930s, a dominant grade of D ("Hazardous") across 40% of the tract. Redlining cut off mortgage credit to Black, immigrant, and working-class blocks, and those areas still tend to carry higher rent burden and eviction filings today.

For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.

Frequently asked

About tract 54039000900

What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 54039000900?

Census tract 54039000900 in the South Hills neighborhood scores 5.6/10 (Moderate 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 54039000900?

Median gross rent is $374/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 41% of renter households are cost-burdened.

What is the poverty rate in tract 54039000900?

55.3% of residents in tract 54039000900 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 1,127.

How socially vulnerable is tract 54039000900?

CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 98th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 96th, household 80th, minority 56th, housing 99th.

Is tract 54039000900 considered part of South Hills?

Yes. Per Census Bureau 2020 Block Assignment Files, the plurality of blocks in tract 54039000900 fall within South Hills (neighborhood centroid within 0.8 miles, OSM data).

What share of households in tract 54039000900 struggle to pay rent?

About 26.8% 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. 28.1% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.

How does tract 54039000900 compare to Charleston overall?

Tract 54039000900 scores 5.6/10, higher than the parent city of Charleston at 3/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Charleston eviction risk; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.

Was tract 54039000900 historically redlined?

Yes. This tract sits inside an area graded by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation in the 1930s, with a dominant grade of D. 40% of the tract's area was rated D ("Hazardous"), the redlined tier. HOLC redlining systematically denied mortgage credit to Black, immigrant, and working-class neighborhoods and remains a documented predictor of present-day eviction filings, rent burden, and homeownership gaps. Source: Mapping Inequality (americanpanorama.org), Robert K. Nelson et al.

Sibling tracts

Highest-risk tracts in Charleston

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