What it's like to live in Forest Hill
Forest Hill is a small city in Texas with home prices that remain within reach and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Forest Hill deals with rent well above the national average, household incomes below the national average, commute times longer than most cities, and air quality that falls short of national benchmarks.
The good
- Affordable home prices
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- Below-average household incomes
- Above-average commute times
- Air quality concerns
- Low college degree attainment
- High rent burden for renters
How Forest Hill compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Forest Hill
Based on Forest Hill's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,526
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $70,520 a year
- 57% of Forest Hill renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$37,480
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $18,740
- Homes cost 2.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 25% above US
$1,763/mo median rent
Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,763 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $187,400. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $187,400 · 57% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.9% county unemployment
Unemployment in Tarrant County is 3.9%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Tarrant County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 20% below US
264 violent crimes per 100k
Crime runs about typical for a city this size. Some neighborhoods are safer than others, and one overall rate doesn't tell the whole story, so a neighborhood-level look matters more than the headline stat.
Property crime 1277/100k · Forest Hill Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 13% above US
29 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 29.3 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 10% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 95°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 39°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 61% below US
14% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
2 public schools inside the boundary
There are 2 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Waco Mammoth National Monument (73 miles away).
Bottom line
Forest Hill's strongest point is home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,763/mo) equals 31% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Forest Hill
All Texas guides →Moving to Arlington →
9 mi away · pop. 397,742
Rent $1,470/mo · Income $75,171
Compare with Forest Hill →Moving to Fort Worth →
10 mi away · pop. 963,194
Rent $1,509/mo · Income $79,507
Compare with Forest Hill →Not sure Forest Hill is the one?
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