Forest Hills is a borough in
Allegheny County
Allegheny County () is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's seco ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, United States. The population was 6,518 at the
2010 census, as compared to 6,831 in 2000, and 7,335 in 1990.
The borough was named after
Forest Hills, Queens
Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast, ...
.
Geography
Forest Hills is located at (40.421918, -79.851872). According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the borough has a total area of , all of it land.
Surrounding neighborhoods
Forest Hills has five borders, including
Wilkinsburg
Wilkinsburg is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The borough has a population of 15,930 as of the 2010 census. Wilkinsburg is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The borough was named for John Wilkins Jr., a United States Army ...
and
Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
to the north,
Wilkins Township
Wilkins Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,357 at the 2010 census. It is served by Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district, the 43rd District of the Pennsylvania State Senate, and the ...
to the east,
Chalfant to the southeast,
North Braddock
North Braddock is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. North Braddock was organized from a part of Braddock Township in 1897. The borough prides itself in being the "Birth Place of Steel" as the home of Andrew Carnegie's ...
to the south-southeast, and
Braddock Hills from the south to the northwest. These municipalities, along with
East Pittsburgh
East Pittsburgh is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, about southeast of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers at Pittsburgh. The population in 1900 stood at 2,883, and in 1910, at 5,615. As of the 2020 census, t ...
,
Edgewood Edgewood may refer to:
Places Canada
*Edgewood, British Columbia
South Africa
*Edgewood, a University of KwaZulu-Natal campus in Pinetown, South Africa
United States Cities and towns
*Edgewood, California
*Edgewood, Florida
*Edgewood, Illinois, a ...
,
Rankin,
Swissvale
Swissvale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, east of downtown Pittsburgh. Named for a farmstead owned by James Swisshelm, during the industrial age it was the site of the Union Switch and Signal Company of George Westinghouse. T ...
, and
Turtle Creek, make up the
Woodland Hills School District
Woodland Hills School District is a public school district located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, serving twelve municipalities in the Pittsburgh area; Braddock, Braddock Hills, Chalfant, Churchill, East Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Forest Hil ...
.
Government and Politics
Extra-borough Elected Representatives
Landmarks
Forest Hills is located along the
Route 30 portion of the
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...
, which, along with
Greensburg Pike, serves as a main artery of the borough.
Until 2015, near the eastern border with
Chalfant, there once stood an historic, five-million-volt
Van de Graaff generator
A Van de Graaff generator is an electrostatic generator which uses a moving belt to accumulate electric charge on a hollow metal globe on the top of an insulated column, creating very high electric potentials. It produces very high voltage direct ...
and
particle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams.
Large accelerators are used for fundamental research in particle ...
known as the
Westinghouse Atom Smasher
The Westinghouse Atom Smasher was a 5
million volt Van de Graaff electrostatic nuclear accelerator operated by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation at their Research Laboratories in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania. It was instrumental in the develo ...
.
The Atom Smasher operated from 1937 to 1958, and because of many important discoveries that were made using the device—it was designated an official historic landmark in 2010.
However, the apparatus was torn down in 2015, when the property that had served as the primary campus of the
Westinghouse Research Laboratories from 1916 to 1956
was being prepared for redevelopment.
Forest Hills is known for its many recreational and family oriented activities. Forest Hills boasts several parks: Forest Hills main Park and Arboretum, Ryan Glenn, Koch, Avenue L Park and Arboretum, and Bright Park. The summer attraction is its pool, which offers residents and their guests a place to keep cool. Several of the facilities offer affordable rentals throughout the year.
There are several leagues available to the residents and their families including: baseball, soccer, basketball, swimming, synchronized swimming and tennis. Adults have several options as well including yoga, aerobics, pool classes, lap swimming, scrap-booking, and various other activities.
Seniors can enjoy a lunch and activities at the senior center.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 6,518 people, 3,099 households, and 1,807 families residing in the borough. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 4,073.8 people per square mile (1,572.9/km²). There were 3,304 housing units at an average density of 2,065.0 per square mile (797.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 87.68%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 9.14%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.09%
Native American, 1.18%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.02%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.40% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.49% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.32% of the population.
There were 3,099 households, out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 31.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.74.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 20, 4.3% from 20 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 33.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the borough was $44,922, and the median income for a family was $56,199. Males had a median income of $42,903 versus $31,103 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the borough was $26,505. About 4.7% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.
References
External links
Borough of Forest Hills official websiteLocal / Neighborhoods East(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1919
Pittsburgh metropolitan area
Boroughs in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
1919 establishments in Pennsylvania