Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 13,430, settled in 1924.
Forest grades B− overall, 180th among Virginia's 249 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 76% of the country and natural-hazard risk is low. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its public schools trail 73% of Virginia towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $414K, 6 years of the Lynchburg metro’s $69K median household income. Poplar Forest, at 247 acres with 1.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Forest’s average trip to work is 22 minutes, where Virginia’s towns sit at 27 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Forest has 12 places on the National Register.
Where Forest beats most towns.
9,106 counted in 2010 and 11,709 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Forest is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Poplar Forest (Boundary Decrease and Boundary Increase) is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 8,006 in 2000, 11,709 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers and 4 maps from 1950 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Forest is unincorporated, so Bedford 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 Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Forest.
Forest has less tooth loss than most of Virginia, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Virginia.
14 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Forest’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Poplar Forest | 1.8 mi | 247 |
| 2. FYAA Forest Recreation Park | 0.2 mi | 45 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Bedford County Public Schools. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Jefferson Forest High, with 1,282 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Jefferson ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 567 | A− |
| Jefferson Forest HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,282 | B+ |
| Forest ElementaryTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 384 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 88% of U.S. communities. Since 1985, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Forest.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with Virginia is tooth loss: 6.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.1% statewide.
30% of Forest adults feel lonely. Forest beats the Virginia average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 33% of Forest adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Forest | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 36% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 12% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Forest | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.7% | 11.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 13.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Forest has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 26° and about 12 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Forest for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Forest grew to 5,714 in 2023, 403 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Lynchburg (40%), Bedford (6%) and Roanoke (3%).
| Forest | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 16% | 18% | 11% |
| Median household income | $82,000 | $102,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.3% | 4.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Virginia average. 46% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Forest.
| Forest | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 44% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 23% | 22% |
55% women, 45% men
About 81 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.6 points). Across Virginia, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Forest | VA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.9% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.1% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.4% | 13.5% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.1% | 13.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.1% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.8% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 9.9% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.8% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4% | 8.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.7% | 23.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.8% | 17.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.9% | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.6% | 23.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 23% | 18.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 6 years of the Lynchburg metro’s $69K median household income, the typical home (about $414K) costs more against local pay than in 80% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,364, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Forest home is worth about $414,000, up 1.9% in a year, close to the Virginia typical home. The median rent in Forest is $1,315 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Forest. Close and well known come first.
13 mi ParkwayBlue Ridge Parkway16.5M visitors a year
25 mi National Historical ParkAppomattox Court House National Historical Park77K visitors a year
27 mi LakeSmith Mountain Lake
15 mi LandmarkNational D-Day Memorial
32 mi LandmarkRed Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial
38 mi MuseumVirginia Museum of TransportationBlue Ridge Parkway: Ken Thomas, Public domain · Appomattox Court House National Historical Park: Doug Coldwell, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Smith Mountain Lake: Jay White, Public domain · National D-Day Memorial: RebelAt at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial: Jamestown Official Photo Corp., Public domain · Virginia Museum of Transportation: Warfieldian, CC BY-SA 3.0
6 within 15 miles of the center of Forest
About 10 of every 100 Forest residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Virginia.
6 places in Forest on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Forest.
Census-designated place in Virginia, US
Forest is a census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Bedford County, Virginia, United States. The population was 11,709 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Forest.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest | #180 | B− | C+ | — | C | A− |
| Lynchburg | #222 | C− | C+ | C | D | B− |
| Timberlake | #73 | A | B+ | — | B+ | B |
Forest and Timberlake report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Forest with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Forest grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #180 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A− for health and C for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
3 notable people were born here, including Rashad Jennings and Elijah Benton.
