Residents living south of Dempster Street in Evanston are about twice as likely to be evicted as people who live in the northern half of the city.
Data from the Cook County Sheriff’s office reported by WBEZ indicates that 19 evictions were carried out in the 60201 ZIP code in the 20 months from October 2021 through May 2023, compared to 34 evictions in the same period in the 60202 ZIP code.
With 6,955 renter households in 60201 and 6,231 in 60202, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, that means a tenant household in north Evanston has about 1.6 chances in a thousand of being evicted over the course of a year, while the chance of eviction for a south Evanston tenant household is about 3.3 in a thousand.
By comparison, renter households in the 60626 ZIP code, Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood have more than 5.1 chances in a thousand of being evicted over the course of a year.
And in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, ZIP code 60649 the chances a renter household will be evicted in a year rises to 18 in a thousand.
Several factors may contribute to the variation in eviction rates in Evanston.
HUD’s fair market rents for north Evanston are about 21% higher than in south Evanston, which may mean people who are financially stretched to meet rent payments may be more likely to choose apartments in south Evanston.
And the high percentage of Northwestern University students among the renter population in north Evanston may mean more tenants there can count on well-to-do parents to help make rent payments.
In addition, when considering the differences between Evanston and Chicago, it’s possible that government-funded eviction prevention programs that have paid back rent for tenants may have reached a higher percentage of the eligible population in Evanston than in Chicago.
But the relatively low frequency of evictions in Evanston, compared to Chicago, may be a factor to consider as Evanston’s City Council continues to consider revisions to the city’s landlord tenant ordinance.
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Surprised connections for the homeless doesn’t step in and pay for all these people like they did for the council member in south Evanston they paid for who was about to be evicted.
I’m not surprised one bit. They wanted a vote from the alderman and got it via rental assistance.
They want numbers stating their “services” are needed here, so they won’t step in and assist, so that these people in trouble can potentially become another statistic in their favor.