Indiana Evictions and Foreclosure Dashboard

Supported by New America, the Polis Center at Indiana University Indianapolis has created a free, interactive online dashboard showcasing up-to-date data on evictions and foreclosures throughout the entire state of Indiana. Please explore the different pages to dive deeper into evictions, foreclosures, and associated socioeconomic and demographic data throughout the state.

The data presented is a compilation of court case records obtained directly from the Indiana Supreme Court, filtered and aggregated by the Polis Center (see the Methods FAQ for more details), as well as data obtained through the Foreclosure and Eviction Analysis Tool (FEAT). This dashboard is a representation of both quantitative and qualitative data surrounding the eviction and foreclosure realm, with a goal of providing transparent and open access to data. It has been designed to be used by many different stakeholders, including tenants themselves.

Last Website Update: April 10th, 2024

Last Data Update: December, 2023

This tab leads to a page where users can examine eviction and foreclosure trends over time and by location in Indiana.

Explore this page to discover more detailed data related to evictions, such as comparisons across other cities and states nationwide and which other socioeconomic variables tend to be associated with evictions.

This tab leads to a page that showcases important socioeconomic and demographic data associated with evictions and foreclosures in different areas throughout the state, such as race, income, and the percentage of renters in an area.

Here, we attempt to bring real eviction stories from individuals to light, to add context to the quantitative data displayed throughout the dashboard. Please feel free to share your anonymous story via the form on the bottom of this page.

This tab provides links to resources for tenants and additional data sources surrounding evictions and foreclosures that can be a helpful starting point for users.

Below are some common questions on how we created this dashboard and presented the data. To get a full understanding of the process from start to finish, download our methodology report!

How did we determine what was an eviction filing vs. eviction judgment?

For each case, we determined if the case was an eviction filing, which is a case that either has not yet reached resolution, was a case that the defendant won, or a case that was dropped by the plaintiff. An eviction judgment is a case where the judge ruled in the plaintiff’s favor and the defendant had to move out of their home/apartment/property in a determined number of days. Since all cases began as an eviction filing in the court, we determined that all eviction judgment cases would also be counted as eviction filings.  

How did we load the data and geocode it?

Data was loaded into a SQL Server database using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). The 4 groups of data (eviction hearing, eviction parties, eviction cases, and eviction events) as well as the table of key indicators were combined and matched through their respective case numbers. The structure and format of each table were checked with our database standards. Quality control ensured all records loaded successfully, redirecting any errors to a separate table. This process, from extracting data to loading it into SQL tables, ensures our information is accurate and fits our system's requirements. 

Geocoding, the process of converting addresses to geographic coordinates, was executed using Esri ArcGIS Pro 3.0 software utilizing a composite address locator housed in an ArcGIS Server. Address reference data were drawn from multiple datasets to ensure accurate and complete geocoding.

The address reference data included:

• 2021 address point data collected from the Indiana Data Harvest.
• 2022 Esri StreetMap Premium data. This dataset includes both address points and centerline data.
• 2022 IndyGIS centerline data (Marion County, Indiana only) obtained from the OpenIndy Data Portal.

How updated is the data?

The eviction and foreclosure data is currently data up to October 2023. The next upload will occur in the beginning of 2024 to include the most updated data for all of 2023. Future updates to the dashboard will be contingent upon funding.

Why is there no eviction data in 2020?

On January 1st, 2021, Indiana Supreme Court (ISC) implemented a policy to better track eviction cases across Indiana in attempts to help tenants and improve policy making towards renting. Because of this policy going into effect in 2021, in the current system, all evictions prior to that occurred as small claims court cases without an easy way to discern evictions from other case types. As such, the ISC did not provide eviction data for 2020.  Our data reflects this, as a majority of our maps and visuals related to evictions start in 2021, while foreclosure data starts at the beginning of 2020.  

Thank you to all those who have helped with the development of the dashboard! • Ally Scott and Matthew Dietrich—data analysis, processing, and dashboard development • Jay Colbert and Sagar Varma Samanthapudi—data processing and data requests • Asger Ali and Ted Deitz—dashboard development • Marc McAleavey—project support • Stakeholders throughout Indiana who attended feedback sessions and gave written feedback