Best PlacesForest Trails, Jacksonville, FL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Forest Trails, Jacksonville, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Forest Trails, Jacksonville ranks 2,437th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Forest Trails, Jacksonville
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 Trails, Jacksonville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Forest Trails, Jacksonville ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Forest Trails, Jacksonville ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Forest Trails, Jacksonville
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Forest Trails, Jacksonville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,244, 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 Trails, Jacksonville's effective rate of 0.97%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Forest Trails, Jacksonville
Forest Trails, Jacksonville runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Forest Trails, Jacksonville.
Who works in Forest Trails, Jacksonville, and how
Work in Forest Trails, Jacksonville centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Forest Trails, Jacksonville
The coast is about 33 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Forest Trails, Jacksonville, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Forest Trails, Jacksonville, month by month
Forest Trails, Jacksonville sees roughly 99 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs February through May and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 54° | 42° |
| April | 83° | 69° | 56° |
| July | 94° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 72° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Forest Trails, Jacksonville
Jacksonville International sits about 5 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.7 million passengers in 2025, with 86 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Forest Trails, Jacksonville
Schools across Forest Trails, Jacksonville average a C−, better than 26% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Grasp AcademyD+ · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Highlands Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Forest Trails, Jacksonville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Forest Trails, Jacksonville 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 Trails, Jacksonville against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Forest Trails, Jacksonville
Is Forest Trails, Jacksonville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Forest Trails, Jacksonville ranks 2,437th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low crime, a strong job market, and few empty homes, and lowest on walkability and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Forest Trails, Jacksonville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $309,676. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $90,244 median income, cost of living beats 76% of neighborhoods.
Is Forest Trails, Jacksonville safe?
Yes, Forest Trails, Jacksonville is safer than 99% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $96 per resident a year.
Compare Forest Trails, Jacksonville with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Forest Trails, Jacksonville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Forest Trails, Jacksonville 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 Trails, Jacksonville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Forest Trails, Jacksonville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Forest Trails, Jacksonville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Forest Trails, Jacksonville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Forest Trails, Jacksonville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Forest Trails, Jacksonville 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.