Forest Hill’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Forest Hill Public Library serves Forest Hill’s 20,098 residents. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
Forest Hill’s library, in brief
Forest Hill Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Forest Hill Public Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $24 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Most of Forest Hill’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 65% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Forest Hill Public Library holds 22,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Forest Hill’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Forest Hill has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Forest Hill is graded on two of the three inputs. Forest Hill’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Forest Hill Public Library spends $24 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$86K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Forest Hill
0.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.6%
2.6% of Forest Hill’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.7% in the typical Texas town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Forest Hill’s residents live; 2022.
65% of borrowing is digital
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
15,133 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Forest Hill Public Library serves 20,098 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Forest Hill last year.
Find it
Forest Hill Public Library, 6962 Forest Hill Dr, Forest Hill.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Forest Hill? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Forest Hill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $486K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $381K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $486K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 10,004 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kennedale | Kennedale Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | 41 | C+ |
| Forest Hill | Forest Hill Public Library | 1.2 | 49 | D− |
| Fort Worth | None of its own | — | — | D |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Forest Hill
Does Forest Hill have a public library?
Yes. Forest Hill Public Library, 6962 Forest Hill Dr, serves Forest Hill’s 20,098 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Forest Hill Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Forest Hill’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Forest Hill’s civic life grade?
D− Forest Hill has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Forest Hill.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.