Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 88/100
A
Median home value$498,500
Grand Rapids $285,300
Median rent$1,958/mo
Grand Rapids $1,202/mo
Cost-burdened households13%
Grand Rapids 24%
Forest Hills
Kent County28,695 residents2 school districts
72
B−
Suburbgrade score
2nd of 15 Grand Rapids suburbs. Strong on housing & affordability and employment & income, held back by amenities.
72
Grand Rapids median 64
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Forest Hills yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 72 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Forest Hills is like to live in, by category
Bars show Forest Hills against Grand Rapids. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 83/100
A−
Within-state proficiency98th pct
Grand Rapids median 74th pct
Student–teacher ratio17.4
Grand Rapids median 16.7
Graduation rate96%
Grand Rapids median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 54/100
C−
Housing cost index153
Grand Rapids 100
Eff. tax rate1.17%
Grand Rapids 1.03%
Local sales tax6.00%
Grand Rapids median 6.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 81/100
B+
Mean commute19.7 min
Grand Rapids 22.0 min
Under 30 minutes84%
Grand Rapids 74%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
Grand Rapids median 1.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 33/100
F
Restaurants & cafés6
Grand Rapids median 38 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Grand Rapids median 5 · within 2 miles
Parks20
Grand Rapids median 31 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 85/100
A−
Median household income$158,005
Grand Rapids $82,874
Unemployment1.0%
Grand Rapids 4.0%
Professional occupations65%
Grand Rapids 41%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Forest Hills yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Forest Hills on amenities
Forest Hills's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Grand Rapids8 mi from Forest HillsA− 59 C Grandville14 mi from Forest HillsB 71 B− East Grand Rapids6 mi from Forest HillsC+ 76 B Kentwood7 mi from Forest HillsC+ 61 C Wyoming12 mi from Forest HillsC+ 59 C Northview8 mi from Forest HillsC 67 C+ Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Forest Hills
Is Forest Hills, MI a good place to live?
Forest Hills scores 72 out of 100, 2nd of 15 Grand Rapids suburbs. It is strongest on housing & affordability and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Forest Hills expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $498,500, 75% above the Grand Rapids median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.17%. $1,958/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Forest Hills?
Schools grade A−. The districts serving Forest Hills sit at the 98th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 96% graduation rate and a 17.4 student–teacher ratio. Forest Hills is served by Forest Hills Public Schools and Lowell Area Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Forest Hills?
The mean commute is 19.7 min, with 84% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 22% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Forest Hills?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 6 restaurants and cafés and 20 parks, which grades F on amenities.
Are the homes in Forest Hills old or new?
The median home in Forest Hills was built in 1988 — newer than the Grand Rapids median of 1979. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 93% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.