Forest Hills, Pennsylvania

Forest Hills, Pennsylvania
Borough
Ardmore Blvd
Nickname(s):  Tree City, USA
Location in Allegheny County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Coordinates: 40°25′19″N79°51′7″W / 40.42194°N 79.85194°W / 40.42194; -79.85194
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Allegheny
School district	Woodland Hills
Founded	July 29, 1919
Named for	Forest Hills, Queens
Government [1]
• Type	Mayor-Council
• Mayor	Frank Porco
• Council	List: Markus Erbeldinger (President) William Tomasic William Burleigh Nina Sowiski James Kiley Patricia DeMarco John Lawrence
• Manager	Steve Morus
Area [2]
• Total	1.56 sq mi (4.05 km2)
• Land	1.56 sq mi (4.05 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Population  (2020) [3]
• Total	6,429
• Density	4,107.99/sq mi (1,586.47/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Zip Code	15221
Area codes	412, 878
FIPS code	42-26592
Website	foresthillspa.org

Forest Hills is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,429 at the 2020 census. ^[4] It is a suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The borough was named after Forest Hills, Queens. ^[5]

Geography

Forest Hills is located at 40°25′19″N79°51′7″W / 40.42194°N 79.85194°W / 40.42194; -79.85194 (40.421918, –79.851872). ^[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all land.

Surrounding neighborhoods

Forest Hills has five borders, including Wilkinsburg and Churchill to the north, Wilkins Township to the east, Chalfant to the southeast, North Braddock to the south-southeast, and Braddock Hills from the south to the northwest. These municipalities, along with East Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Rankin, Swissvale, and Turtle Creek, make up the Woodland Hills School District. ^[7]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1930	4,549		—
1940	5,248		15.4%
1950	6,301		20.1%
1960	8,796		39.6%
1970	9,561		8.7%
1980	8,198		−14.3%
1990	7,335		−10.5%
2000	6,831		−6.9%
2010	6,518		−4.6%
2020	6,429		−1.4%
Sources: [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [3]

As of the 2010 census, ^[13] there were 6,518 people, 3,099 households, and 1,807 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,073.8 people per square mile (1,572.9 people/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, 9.14% African American, 0.09% Native American, 1.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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 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 for the borough was $26,505. About 4.7% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Forest Hills is located along the Route 30 portion of the Lincoln Highway, 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 and particle accelerator known as the Westinghouse Atom Smasher. ^{[14] [15]} 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. ^[16] 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 ^[17] was being prepared for redevelopment. ^{[18] [19]}

Government and politics

Presidential election results ^{[20] [21] [22]}

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third parties
2020	27%1,256	71%3,230	0.9%43
2016	31%1,254	65%2,636	3%135
2012	37%1.498	61%2,440	1%57

Representatives

Office/District	Incumbent	Party
Allegheny County Council (district 8) [23]	Charles Martoni	Democrat
PA House of Representatives (district 34)	Summer Lee	Democrat
PA Senate (district 43)	Jay Costa	Democrat
U.S. House of Representatives (PA district 18)	Mike Doyle	Democrat
U.S. Senate	John Fetterman	Democrat
U.S. Senate	Bob Casey Jr.	Democrat

References

1. Forest Hills Elected Officials ^{[ permanent dead link ]} l
2. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
3. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
4. "Explore Census Data".
5. Porter Jr., Thomas J. (May 10, 1984). "Town names carry a little bit of history". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
6. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
7. Woodland Hills School District
8. "Number and Distribution of Inhabitants:Pennsylvania-Tennessee" (PDF). Fifteenth Census. U.S. Census Bureau.
9. "Number of Inhabitants: Pennsylvania" (PDF). 18th Census of the United States. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
10. "Pennsylvania: Population and Housing Unit Counts" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
11. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
12. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
13. "U.S. Census Bureau Fact Finder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
14. Atom Smasher (Circa 1937) - Odd-Shaped Buildings on Waymarking.com
15. Blake, Gloria Rogulin (July 31, 2015). "My View of the Westinghouse Atom Smasher". Atomic Confluence. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
16. Walter, Marni Blake (September 1, 2015). "An Unlikely Atomic Landscape: Forest Hills and the Westinghouse Atom Smasher". Western Pennsylvania History Magazine. Senator John Heinz History Center. 98 (3): 36–49. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
17. Fey, Maury; Dollard, Walt (April 3, 2015). "The Echoes from Westinghouse at Forest Hills / Forest Hills Nuclear History". Atomic Confluence. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
18. Harkins, Jill (January 21, 2015). "Atom smasher in Forest Hills torn down; restoration promised". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved December 4, 2019.
19. O'Neill, Brian (January 25, 2015). "Brian O'Neill: With Forest Hills atom smasher's fall, part of history tumbles". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved December 4, 2019.
20. EL. "2012 Allegheny County election". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
21. EL. "2016 Pennsylvania general election results". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
22. "Election Night Reporting".
23. "Allegheny County Council Districts by Municipality". Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.

External links

• Borough of Forest Hills official website
• Local / Neighborhoods East (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)