Best PlacesForest Park, Portland, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Forest Park, Portland, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Forest Park, Portland ranks 258th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Forest Park, Portland
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 Park, Portland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Forest Park, Portland ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Household income$201,873 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
Where Forest Park, Portland ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,729 a month, better than only 13% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Forest Park, Portland
A household needs to earn about $263,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Forest Park, Portland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $201,873, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Park, Portland's effective rate of 1.13%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Forest Park, Portland
Forest Park, Portland runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Forest Park, Portland.
Who works in Forest Park, Portland, and how
Work in Forest Park, Portland centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 36%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Forest Park, Portland
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Forest Park, Portland.
What the weather is like in Forest Park, Portland, month by month
Forest Park, Portland sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 41° | 34° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 70° | 57° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Forest Park, Portland
Portland International sits about 9 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Forest Park, Portland
Schools across Forest Park, Portland average a B+, better than 78% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Bonny Slope Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Cedar Mill Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- West Tualatin View Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cedar Park Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Sunset High SchoolA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Forest Park, Portland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Forest Park, Portland 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 Park, Portland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Forest Park, Portland
Is Forest Park, Portland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Forest Park, Portland ranks 258th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on tree cover, what local pay buys, and an educated workforce, and lowest on walkability and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Forest Park, Portland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $962,995. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $201,873 median income, cost of living beats 99% of neighborhoods.
Is Forest Park, Portland safe?
Yes, Forest Park, Portland is safer than 75% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $461 per resident a year.
Compare Forest Park, Portland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Forest Park, Portland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Forest Park, Portland 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 Park, Portland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Forest Park, Portland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Forest Park, Portland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Forest Park, Portland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Forest Park, Portland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Forest Park, Portland 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.
- 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.