11 census tracts · pop 24,214 · pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score 7.4/10
· range 6.7–9.4
Forest Hills is a 11-tract neighborhood of Boston, MA and houses 24,214 people. Scored across those inputs it reaches 7.4/10, placing it in the Elevated tier. Cost burden runs 43% against 30.6% citywide, putting Forest Hills 12.1% over its own city.
The 11 tracts inside this boundary do not behave alike. Individual scores run 6.7 to 9.4, a 2.7-point gap wide enough that the area average misleads on any specific address. The dominant input is tenant-organizing strength at 8.5/10.
Severe burden reaches 22%. A tenant at that level absorbs no shock: one cut shift or one repair bill converts directly into arrears. On the high side is rent-regulation exposure at 8/10. Running hot is eviction-process difficulty at 8/10.
Court records carry 669 eviction filings across its 7 observed tracts. SNAP participation is 23.9% of households versus 15.2% nationally. Filing activity peaked in 2016 at 8.3% of renter households.
Among the 57 mapped neighborhoods of Boston, it ranks #38 by risk, the lower third. Judgments average 1.2% of renter households a year, the share of filings that actually convert to an order. For a like-for-like read, Dorchester Heights and Stonybrook Village score within a fraction of it.
Average gross rent runs $2,128, close to the Boston average.
Underwrite the address, not the area: with 2.7 points between its best and worst tract, the per-tract table below is the operative number. The number is rebuilt whenever its ACS, court-record, or statutory inputs change.
Risk score
7.4
Elevated
11 tracts · population-weighted
Forest Hills vs BostonHow this neighborhood stacks against the citywide average
Single-parent HH, disability, language barriers, age 17- / 65+
Racial/ethnic minority66%ile
Hispanic + non-white share of population
Housing & transport67%ile
Multi-unit structures, mobile homes, crowding, no vehicle
Eviction filings · Princeton Eviction Lab
Court-record eviction history in Forest Hills
Aggregated across 7 validated constituent tracts. Filing rate is filings per 100 renter households, pop-weighted.
Historic baseline (2000–2018)
669Total filings (sum)
3.33%Avg annual filing rate
8.3%Peak year (2016)
3.57%Latest filed (2016)
Pandemic-era tracking (2020–2021)
448Total filings 2020-21
1.4Avg monthly observed
2.1Pre-pandemic baseline
1.78×Ratio to baseline
Pandemic filings ran above baseline. Tracked under Eviction Lab Eviction Tracking System (Boston, MA).
CDC PLACES 2023 · pop-weighted
Eviction-adjacent indicators in Forest Hills
Average across all constituent tracts, population-weighted. Source: CDC PLACES (cwsq-ngmh) crude prevalence.
14.6%Housing insecurity
9.7%Utility shutoff threat
15.4%Food insecurity
17.4%SNAP enrollment
5.6%No health insurance
23.0%Any disability
Frequently asked
About Forest Hills
Q1
What is the eviction-risk score for Forest Hills?
Forest Hills scores 7.4/10 (Elevated tier) across 11 census tracts. The pop-weighted Eviction Risk Score blends state law, county filing rates, parent-city politics, and tract-specific rent-to-income and poverty signals.
Q2
How does Forest Hills compare to Boston overall?
Forest Hills scores 0.7 points lower than Boston overall (8.1/10). Renters spend 43% of income on rent vs 31% citywide. Average rent: $2,128 vs $2,147.
Q3
What is the average rent in Forest Hills?
Average gross rent in Forest Hills is $2,128/month (pop-weighted across 11 census tracts, ACS 5-year 2023). 43% of renter households are cost-burdened.
Q4
What percentage of Forest Hills residents are renters?
55% of Forest Hills households are renter-occupied (vs 64% in Boston). The neighborhood has 24,214 residents.
Q5
Is Forest Hills a high social-vulnerability area?
Forest Hills sits in the 44th percentile nationally on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (less vulnerable). The index combines poverty, unemployment, household composition, racial/ethnic minority share, and housing/transportation factors across all US census tracts.
Q6
Which tracts in Forest Hills have the highest eviction risk?
The highest-risk constituent tract in Forest Hills is census tract 25025980300 (score 9.4/10). Across the 11 tracts in this neighborhood the score ranges from 6.7 to 9.4, a spread of 2.7 points.
Q7
How safe is Forest Hills for landlords?
Forest Hills carries a elevated-tier eviction-risk profile for landlords (7.4/10). Pop-weighted across 11 constituent tracts, the score blends parent-city rent-control posture, county eviction-process timelines, and tract-specific rent-to-income / poverty signals. Compared to Boston as a whole (8.1/10), this neighborhood is lower-risk.
Q8
What is the demographic breakdown of Forest Hills?
Forest Hills has 24,896 residents. Top groups: White (non-Hispanic) (46%), Black (non-Hispanic) (27.6%), Hispanic / Latino (17.3%). Source: ACS 5-year 2023, table B03002.
