Best PlacesForest Park, Springfield, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Forest Park, Springfield, 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 Park, Springfield ranks 4,001st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Forest Park, Springfield
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, Springfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where Forest Park, Springfield ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Short commute20.5 minutes each way, better than 77% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 75% of neighborhoods
Where Forest Park, Springfield ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Forest Park, Springfield
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Forest Park, Springfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $62,139, 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, Springfield's effective rate of 1.33%, 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 8 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 Park, Springfield
Forest Park, Springfield runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Forest Park, Springfield.
Who works in Forest Park, Springfield, and how
Work in Forest Park, Springfield centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Forest Park, Springfield
Forest Park, Springfield has more parkland per resident than 94% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Forest Park, Springfield and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Forest Park, Springfield, month by month
Forest Park, Springfield sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 35° |
| July | 88° | 74° | 61° |
| October | 68° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Forest Park, Springfield
Bradley International sits about 12 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.3 million passengers in 2025, with 92 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Forest Park, Springfield
Schools across Forest Park, Springfield average a C−, better than 29% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Blueberry HillA− · 60% proficient
- CenterB+ · 55% proficient
- Alice B Beal ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Williams MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- Birchland ParkB · 47% proficient
- Chestnut Accelerated Middle School (talented And Gifted)C+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Longmeadow HighA · 78% proficient
- East Longmeadow HighB+ · 56% proficient
- Springfield High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Forest Park, Springfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Forest Park, Springfield 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, Springfield against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Forest Park, Springfield suits
Families
Schools land around the 29th percentile and crime safety beats 65%.
Common questions about living in Forest Park, Springfield
Is Forest Park, Springfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Forest Park, Springfield ranks 4,001st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on tree cover, transit, and short commutes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Forest Park, Springfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $270,925. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $62,139 median income, cost of living beats 24% of neighborhoods.
Is Forest Park, Springfield safe?
Yes, Forest Park, Springfield is safer than 65% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $379 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Forest Park, Springfield?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 18. That works out to about 63 pleasant days a year, more than 13% of neighborhoods.
Is Forest Park, Springfield good for families?
Schools beat 29% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 65%, and childcare runs $1,385 a month.
Compare Forest Park, Springfield with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Forest Park, Springfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Forest Park, Springfield 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, Springfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Forest Park, Springfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Forest Park, Springfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Forest Park, Springfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Forest Park, Springfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Forest Park, Springfield 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.