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Towns / Tennessee

Forest Hills, Tennessee

Forest Hills is a suburb of about 4,500 people in Davidson County, Tennessee, in the Nashville area. It has lost about 11% of its people since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Nashville, is about 8 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Nashville

Population
4,473
down 11% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$1,413,100
Davidson County prices up 8.8% since 2022
Household income
$250,000 or more
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Nashville area
96.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Nashville, TN
To Nashville
8 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 3.7% below the U.S. average in the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Forest Hills to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Forest Hills itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Hillsboro High, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAscension Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityNashville is about 8 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Forest Hills meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Forest Hills runs into the built-up area around Nashville (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

Worth a closer look

Forest Hills has lost about 11% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$1,413,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 8.8%Davidson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$3,500 or more a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$250,000 or moreU.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
97%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$7,279 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
96.3U.S. average = 100 (the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 8.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin metro area, not Forest Hills alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
4,4732020: 5,017
Median age
49.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
26%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
79%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (26%); professional and business services (21%); finance, insurance and real estate (13%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
28%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital, Nashville, TN, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Forest Hills, run by Davidson County. The nearest public high school is Hillsboro High, about 3 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Tennessee's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
94%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
100%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
28°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
30 a year
Nights at or below freezing
85 a year
Rain and melted snow
53.8 inches a year
Snow
2 inches a year
Elevation
767 feet

Weather stations: Warner Park (4 miles away) and Franklin Sewage Plt (9 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital, Franklin, Nashville.

Davidson County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Natchez Trace Parkway8 miles
  • Stones River National Battlefield26 miles

Read about Forest Hills's history on Wikipedia.

Know Forest Hills?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.