Forest Hills is a city of 4,850 in Davidson County, about 8 miles southwest of downtown Nashville · Updated November 2026
Is Forest Hills, TN safe?
Yes, crime in Forest Hills is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A-. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, Forest Hills sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 50% of Americans live. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A against B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Forest Hills run from A to B, so check the map below.
A-
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 837 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
50% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Forest Hills as a whole, and 50% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Forest Hills scores 837.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Forest Hills, TN at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Forest Hills, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Forest Hills
Thefts run high for an A-graded city. Forest Hills has 28.5 thefts a year per 1,000 residents; for the typical resident of an A-graded US city, the figure is 8.3.
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages far more often than nationally. In Forest Hills, 65% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
Crime rates and types in Forest Hills
CrimeGrade™ estimates Forest Hills has about 40 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 7% more than the US as a whole and 16% less than Tennessee.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft is the most common crime in Forest Hills, about 72% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Forest Hills
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department polices Forest Hills, and these figures cover every place it serves, 2022 to 2024.
In Forest Hills, 61% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (61%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (56%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (65%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (40%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Robbery
Parking lots and garages (34%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (44%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Forest Hills compares with nearby cities
Of the 9 cities closest to Forest Hills, 7 have less crime. Nolensville and Brentwood have the least.
Two things set Forest Hills apart: it has a Walk Grade of F (0 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole, and 16 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and assault, and assault runs low here.
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 100% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.F (0 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 99% of US city residents
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 97% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.16 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 92% of US city residents
Show all 6
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Forest Hills: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 78% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.7.7% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 68% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Forest Hills
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Forest Hills about $891 a year per household, 26% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $4.3 million a year, or $894 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$180,000
$37
Rape
$75,000
$15
Robbery
$28,000
$6
Assault
$410,000
$84
Burglary
$86,000
$18
Theft
$710,000
$147
Vehicle theft
$95,000
$20
Arson
$3,200
$1
Vandalism
$60,000
$12
Total
$1.6 million
$339
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Forest Hills means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department publishes its own crime data
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Forest Hills, TN average a SchoolGrade of A+: 63% of students test proficient, against 67% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Forest Hills on SchoolGrade
