What is the Best Neighborhoods USA ranking for Forest Lake?
Forest Lake is ranked #4 of 5 eligible neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa; #229 of 258 eligible neighborhoods in AL; and #14,094 of 14,967 eligible neighborhoods in the United States.
Neighborhood Profile
Forest Lake
Tuscaloosa, AL | Tuscaloosa County
Scored premium profile
Best Neighborhoods USA Index
25.9
Stability and Strength
25.9
Value Opportunity
25.6
Momentum
26.2
Score note: Rankings show denominators so users always see the size of the eligible cohort.
| Context | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Tuscaloosa, AL |
| County | Tuscaloosa County |
| National rank | #14,094 of 14,967 |
| State rank | #229 of 258 |
| City rank | #4 of 5 |
| County rank | #4 of 5 |
| National percentile | 5.8 |
| National band | LOWER_25_PERCENT |
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Housing and local fundamentals
| Housing and market metrics | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Zillow home value | $251,100 |
| Year-over-year home value change | -4.6% |
| Month-over-month home value change | 0.26% |
| Home value to income ratio | 8.29 |
| Median household income | $30,288 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 42.0% |
| Civilian unemployment rate | 5.6% |
| Homeownership rate | 16.4% |
| Housing vacancy rate | 22.7% |
| Rent burden 30% or higher | 56.3% |
How to read this profile
- Ranks are always shown with denominators.
- Momentum reflects both year-over-year and month-over-month housing change.
- Stability and Strength and Value Opportunity are governed composite scores.
- Identity composition is descriptive intelligence and is not a scoring component.
Questions and Answers
Questions About Living in Forest Lake
Is Forest Lake one of the best neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa?
Forest Lake has a Best Neighborhoods USA Index of 25.9 and a city ranking of #4 of 5 eligible neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa.
How much are homes worth in Forest Lake?
The current Zillow Home Value Index for Forest Lake is approximately $251,100.
Are home values rising or falling in Forest Lake?
Zillow neighborhood values changed -4.6% year over year and 0.26% month over month.
What is the Neighborhood Momentum Score for Forest Lake?
Forest Lake has a Neighborhood Momentum Score of 26.2. Momentum is 70% year-over-year and 30% month-over-month Zillow housing change.
What is the median household income in Forest Lake?
The NDS-derived neighborhood median household income is approximately $30,288.
How affordable is Forest Lake relative to household income?
The current Zillow home-value-to-household-income ratio is 8.29. Price-to-income affordability is a major Value Opportunity input.
Is Forest Lake primarily homeowners or renters?
The NDS-derived homeownership rate is approximately 16.4%.
What is the unemployment rate in Forest Lake?
The NDS-derived civilian unemployment rate is approximately 5.6%.
How educated are residents of Forest Lake?
Approximately 42.0% of residents age 25 and older are estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What share of renters in Forest Lake face high rent burden?
Approximately 56.3% of the applicable renter-household universe is estimated to spend 30% or more of household income on gross rent.
How does Best Neighborhoods USA score Forest Lake?
The overall index combines 40% Stability and Strength, 35% Value Opportunity, and 25% Momentum. Race, ethnicity, and identity composition are not scoring components.
Governed ranking context
How this neighborhood ranks
HMDA Mortgage Intelligence
Neighborhood Mortgage Market
Modeled neighborhood-level mortgage activity allocated from governed HMDA tract data using Zillow neighborhood geometry. These neighborhood values are nonadditive and do not enter the Best Neighborhoods USA Index.
Activity year2024
Estimated applications60
Estimated originations41
Home-purchase applications42
Origination rate68.8%
Home-purchase share69.4%
Average application loan$199,327
Total application loan amount$11,948,410
National application rank#6,504 of 14,874 rankable neighborhoods
Geometry coverage100.0%
Recent trend: Applications -20.2% YoY; originations -27.2% YoY
Mortgage methodology
HMDA is natively reported at tract and other lender-reporting geographies, not Zillow neighborhood or ZIP geography. This module uses the certified NDS HMDA-to-Zillow tract-vintage crosswalk and area-weighted allocation. Rankings require governed geometry coverage. Applicant demographics are excluded. Neighborhood values may overlap and must not be summed to reconstruct ZIP or national totals.