Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 10,495: a town settled in 1864.
Strong in places, weak in others. The weak point is schools (D) — its public schools trail 92% of Maryland towns on state tests and graduation. Taken together, its subjects give Forestville a C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns. That places it 198th of 259 in Maryland. Its strongest subject is hazard risk (A+). Walkability is another plus — it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. At about $339K, a typical home costs 2.7 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. The biggest park or preserve is Walker Mill Regional Park, at 112 acres.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · OpenStreetMap.
Where Forestville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| North Forestville Elementary | PK–5 | 271 |
| Longfields Elementary | PK–5 | 256 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Forestville is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for schools (better than 8%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 12,707 in 2000, 12,831 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1873 and 2 maps from 1900 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Forestville. Close and well known come first.
Big draw9 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big draw9 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw9 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw11 mi LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw10 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw4 mi Stadium & arenaNorthwest StadiumWhite 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 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Northwest Stadium: Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0
Forestville is unincorporated, so Prince George's County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Forestville.
Forestville sends many workers across the state line to Arlington and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
Its public schools are run by the Prince George's County Public Schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. 2 public schools serve Forestville, with 527 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Forestville ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 271 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Households in Forestville have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2003. Compared with 98% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower. This Maryland town has had 6 paid flood insurance claims since 2007. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 45% come from inland flooding and 15% from earthquakes.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Expect July afternoons of 88° and January nights of 26°, with about 16 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among adults in Forestville, 17% have diabetes and 46% have obesity. Of 32 CDC measures, Forestville beats the Maryland average on 3 and trails it on 18. For adults here, the share who binge drink is 11%. 15% of adults have been diagnosed with depression locally, below both the Maryland town median (20%) and the median of U.S. towns (23%).
| Forestville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 38% | 36% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 12% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 36% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 20% | 23% |
| What stands out | Forestville | MD |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.2% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with depression | 15% | 19.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.6% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
35% of working residents cross a state line to work, Arlington among the top destinations. Forestville has about as many jobs (5,465) as working residents, but only 68 people both live and work here.
Forestville’s middle household income comes in at $71,000. Commuting out is the norm here: 1% of working residents work locally. Its average commute stands at 35 minutes, above both Maryland’s towns (32 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Nearly a fifth of Forestville workers work from home.
| Forestville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 19% | 18% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.3% | 3.2% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.8 miles of trail wind through 1 park or preserve. In Forestville, the concentration of trails is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Forestville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.6% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Walker Mill Regional Park | — | 112 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2.7 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 89% of Maryland towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
On the market in Forestville: a median 53 days to sell. Its rent at the middle of the market stands at $1,719 a month. Bidding over the asking price: 29% of homes sold here.
| Forestville | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 74% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,719 a month | $1,810 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
30 within 15 miles of the center of Forestville
About 4 of every 100 Forestville residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
6 notable people were born in Forestville.
CDP in Maryland
Forestville is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 12,831. The community is a mixture of garden apartments, single-family homes, and shopping centers built mostly from the 1930s through 1970s, adjacent to the communities of District Heights, Suitland, Morningside, Westphalia and Camp Springs. Forestville is located close to the town of Upper Marlboro, where many Prince George's County Board Offices are located. Additionally, Forestville is located adjacent to the Joint Base Andrews/ Andrews Air Force Base. The neighborhood has a majority African-American population. It is conveni…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Forestville.
| Town | MD rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forestville | #198 | C | B− | — | D | C+ |
| Morningside | — | — | C | — | D | B− |
| Walker Mill | #217 | C | B− | — | D | C |
| District Heights | #239 | C− | B− | C− | D | C |
| Suitland | #219 | C | B− | — | D | C+ |
| Westphalia | #177 | C+ | C | — | D | A− |
| Camp Springs | #174 | C+ | C | — | D | B− |
Morningside has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Forestville, Morningside, Walker Mill, Suitland, Westphalia and Camp Springs report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Forestville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Forestville grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #198 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−.
6 notable people were born here, including Robert Lowery and LaMont Jordan.
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