Estimating Eviction Prevalence Across the United States

Overview

Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Specialty Science

Date 2022 May 16

PMID 35576463

Authors

Ashley Gromis

Ian Fellows

James R Hendrickson

Lavar Edmonds

Lillian Leung

Adam Porton

Matthew Desmond

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

SignificanceSeveral negative effects of forced displacement have been well documented, yet we lack reliable measurement of eviction risk in the national perspective. This prevents accurate estimations of the scope and geography of the problem as well as evaluations of policies to reduce housing loss. We construct a nationwide database of eviction filings in the United States. Doing so reveals that 2.7 million households, on average, are threatened with eviction each year; that the highest eviction filing rates are not concentrated solely in high-cost urban areas; and that state-level housing policies are strongly associated with county-level eviction filing risk. These data facilitate an expanded research agenda on the causes and consequences of eviction lawsuits in the United States.

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