Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,618, settled in 1949.
Forest Heights gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $343K, 2.7 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 183rd among Maryland's 259 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its public schools trail 92% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. On the plus side, 50% of its land is conserved. 50% of the land in Forest Heights is conserved, above both Maryland’s towns (9.5%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Only 11 of Maryland’s 329 towns score lower on hazard risk. Forest Heights's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 88% of U.S. towns.
Where Forest Heights beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| John Hanson Montessori | PK–8 | 496 |
| Flintstone Elementary | PK–5 | 367 |
| Forest Heights Elementary | PK–5 | 215 |
Where Forest Heights’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Forest Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,125 in 1950, 2,658 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2004 and 3 maps from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Forest Heights. Close and well known come first.
Big draw6 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw5 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw6 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw6 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw6 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw6 mi National MemorialLincoln Memorial7.7M visitors a yearWhite House: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Washington Monument: Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Lincoln Memorial: Aerial_view_of_Lincoln_Memorial_-_east_side.jpg: Carol M. Highsmith derivative w, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Forest Heights, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Mar 11, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Forest Heights.
Forest Heights has hotter summers than almost anywhere else in Maryland, sends many workers across the state line to Alexandria and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Maryland.
Its 536 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Maryland town. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #1 of 261 in Maryland.
3.5 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. At 2.1 miles per square mile, Forest Heights’ trail density is above both the Maryland town median (0.6) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest park or preserve is Oxon Hill Manor, at 26 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oxon Hill Manor | — | 26 |
| 2. Oxon Cove Park | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Prince George's County Public Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Oxon Hill High, with 1,562 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Hanson MontessoriLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 496 | C+ |
| Oxon Hill HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,562 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 91% of U.S. communities. Since 2012, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Forest Heights.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
50% of working residents cross a state line to work, Alexandria among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave Forest Heights for work: only 1% work in town. The average trip to work in Forest Heights is 33 minutes. Since 2013, Forest Heights has lost 54 jobs, to 832 in 2023.
| Forest Heights | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 3.2% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons average 89°, the #2 highest of 536 Maryland places with climate records; January nights average 26.9°.
Forest Heights has chilly winters and warm summers. Forest Heights’ July high is 89°F. About 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Forest Heights | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 89°F | 88°F | 85°F |
| January low | 27°F | 26°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 2.7 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home (about $343K) costs less against local pay than in 89% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
94% of households own their home in Forest Heights. The typical Forest Heights home is worth about $343,000, down 3.2% in a year, 19% below the Maryland typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 8,766 U.S. towns with household incomes like Forest Heights’s, it is less healthy than 85%, so it trails even them.
Forest Heights beats the Maryland average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 45% of Forest Heights adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Forest Heights | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 20% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 36% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 8% | 8.1% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Forest Heights | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.5% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with depression | 14.5% | 19.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 16.8% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Forest Heights's reported crime rate is below Maryland's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 12 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| Forest Heights | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 12.8 per 1,000 residents | 19.1 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
34 within 15 miles of the center of Forest Heights
About 5 of every 100 Forest Heights residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
3 places in Forest Heights on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Maryland
Forest Heights is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the larger postal designation of Oxon Hill. The town straddles both sides of dual-lane Maryland Route 210 and includes two elementary schools. Per the 2020 census, the population was 2,658.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Forest Heights.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Heights | #183 | C+ | B | — | D | C+ |
| Glassmanor | #237 | C− | B− | — | D | C− |
| Oxon Hill | #168 | B− | B− | — | D | B− |
| National Harbor | #215 | C | D | — | D | B+ |
Forest Heights, Glassmanor, Oxon Hill and National Harbor report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Forest Heights with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Forest Heights grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #183 of 259 in Maryland. It grades C+ for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
