Best PlacesForest County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Forest County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Forest County ranks 2,016th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Forest County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Forest County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Forest County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 99% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 95% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of counties
Where Forest County ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 5% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Forest County
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Forest County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,998, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Forest County's effective rate of 0.86%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Forest County
Forest County runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Forest County.
Who works in Forest County, and how
Work in Forest County centers on manufacturing and public administration. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Forest County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Forest County.
Is Forest County growing, and who is moving in?
Forest County has lost about 12% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Philadelphia, PA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Forest County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Forest County, month by month
Forest County sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 27° | 19° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Forest County
The nearest airport, Dubois Regional, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 87 miles away.
The best schools in and around Forest County
Schools across Forest County average a B−, better than 65% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- East Forest El SchA− · 62% proficient
- West Forest El SchB · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- East Forest JshsB− · 42% proficient
- West Forest JshsD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Forest County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Forest County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Forest County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Forest County
Is Forest County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Forest County ranks 2,016th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, low disaster risk, and a stable housing market, and lowest on internet speeds and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Forest County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $115,975. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $52,998 median income, cost of living beats 11% of counties.
Is Forest County safe?
Forest County is safer than 35% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $336 per resident a year.
Compare Forest County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Forest County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Forest County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Forest County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Forest County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Forest County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Forest County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Forest County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Forest County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.