Within parent city
100
th percentile
Very High
Census Tract · Ranked #26,446 of 84,120 nationally
Portage Eviction Risk: Moderate
Tract 55021970500 · Columbia County, WI · pop 4,327 · 92% of tract blocks fall in Portage
Census tract 55021970500 covers Portage in Columbia County, home to 4,327 residents. For landlords it grades 5.1/10, a moderate reading. That is riskier than roughly 40% of the 84,120 US census tracts we score.
Rent eats 30% or more of income for 43% of renter households, a severe level, and 32% are severely burdened at 50% or more. Average rent runs $993 a month against an average household income of $59,771 a year, roughly 20% of income at the averages. About 36% of occupied units are renter-occupied.
Risk score
4.9
Moderate
Confidence 100% · 1–10 scale
Household mix · 100 hh
Burdened renters 16%
Stable renters 21%
Owners 63%
Tract context
Occupied units1,735
Renter share36.1%
SVI overall0.69
Poverty rate22.3%
Median income$59,771
Percentile rank
Higher percentile = riskier than more peers.Within county
100
th percentile
Very High
Within state
85
th percentile
High
National
69
th percentile
Elevated
Geographic context
Risk heat across Portage and the region
Centroid at 43.5626, -89.4522 · click any tract to drill in
Why Portage scores 4.9
9 axes · 1 = landlord-friendlyLocal political climate
Inherited from Portage
5.4
Regional political climate
2024 county presidential margin
4.9
State political climate
Wisconsin legislature & governorship
2.9
Economic stress
22.3% poverty · this tract
5.6
Supply constraint
$993 rent vs county FMR
4.1
Rent control risk
Inherited from Portage
4.4
Eviction process difficulty
State law sets the calendar
2.9
Tenant organizing strength
Inherited from Portage
8.5
Housing court bias
Inherited from Portage
5.4
How Portage compares
Risk score vs. parent city, county, state.CDC Social Vulnerability Index
SVI percentile: 69
CDC/ATSDR 2022. Higher = more vulnerable. National percentile across 84k tracts.
- 76%Socioeconomic
- 42%Household composition
- 19%Racial/ethnic minority
- 81%Housing & transportation
Eviction filings
Court-record eviction history
Court-validated eviction filings collected from county clerks and consolidated by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households.1
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
- 405Total filings over 15 yrs
- 4.38%Avg annual filing rate
- 6.4%Peak (2010)
- 31Filings in 2017 (latest validated)
Filings climbed 55% over the past 15 months.
Comparable tracts
Census tracts with similar eviction risk
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.
- 12.6%Housing insecurity
- 7.8%Utility-shutoff threat
- 16.9%Food insecurity
- 20.1%SNAP enrollment
- 8.9%Transit barriers
- 10.0%No health insurance
- 18.3%Frequent mental distress
- 35.3%Any disability
Analysis
What drives eviction risk in Portage
The heaviest input here is tenant organizing strength at 8.5/10. That part comes from the wider legal climate rather than the tract itself. Statewide and court-level factors such as eviction-process speed and rent-control exposure are inherited from Portage, while the economic and supply signals are measured at the tract level.
Set against its neighbors, this tract scores above the Columbia County average of 4.1 and above the Wisconsin statewide average of 4.6. Within its own county it reads on the riskier side for landlords.
Princeton's Eviction Lab logged 405 eviction filings here over 15 tracked years, with about 4.4% of renter households facing a filing in a typical year. Filings peaked at 6.4% of renter households in 2010.
The tract is predominantly White and ranks around the 69th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, a measure of how exposed residents are to housing and economic shocks. That is a middle-of-the-pack reading for social vulnerability.
For a landlord, conditions here are middle-of-the-road. Standard screening and prompt, documented notices usually keep cases short.
Frequently asked
About tract 55021970500
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for census tract 55021970500?
Census tract 55021970500 in Portage scores 4.9/10 (Moderate tier). The Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income ratios + poverty signals.
Q2
What is the average rent in tract 55021970500?
Median gross rent is $993/month (ACS 5-year 2023, table B25064). 43% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q3
What is the poverty rate in tract 55021970500?
22.3% of residents in tract 55021970500 live below the federal poverty line (ACS B17001, 2023). Population: 4,327.
Q4
How socially vulnerable is tract 55021970500?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index ranks this tract in the 69th percentile nationally. Sub-themes: socioeconomic 76th, household 42th, minority 19th, housing 81th.
Q5
How many evictions are filed each year in tract 55021970500?
Princeton Eviction Lab recorded 405 eviction filings across 15 validated years in tract 55021970500 (2000-2018). The average annual filing rate is 4.38% of renter households, peaking at 6.4% in 2010. Source: Eviction Lab tract-validated 2024 release.
Q6
What share of households in tract 55021970500 struggle to pay rent?
About 12.6% 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. 7.8% also reported utility shutoff threats, a frequent precursor to eviction filings.
Q7
How does tract 55021970500 compare to Portage overall?
Tract 55021970500 scores 4.9/10, higher than the parent city of Portage at 3.1/10. City-scale signals (state law, local rent controls, court bias) are inherited from Portage; what makes this tract different are its tract-specific economic stress and supply-constraint sub-scores.
Sibling tracts
Highest-risk tracts in Portage
Top eight tracts in Portage ranked by composite eviction-risk score.
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