Work & commute · Forrest

Work & commute in Forrest, AR

41% of Forrest’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Memphis (7%), Marion (4%) and Jonesboro (4%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

41%

1,493 of 3,608 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,115 Forrest residents head out of town to work, 1,493 work right here, and 3,499 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Forrest.

2,115live here, work elsewhere

1,493live and work here

3,499work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Forrest goes to work

Forrest City (in town)right here

41%1,493

Memphis, TN47.1 mi away

7%238

Marion35.7 mi away

4%153

Jonesboro56.1 mi away

4%149

Little Rock90.9 mi away

4%142

Wynne15.3 mi away

3%120

West Memphis34.9 mi away

3%99

DeWitt59 mi away

2%72

Marianna16.6 mi away

2%57

Paragould73.5 mi away

1%52

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%1,033

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Forrest commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

44%

17%

32%

44%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

32%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Forrest is balanced between jobs and homes

1.38jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.38 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Forrest are

4,992 jobs are based in Forrest. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Forrest’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Forrest

4,992 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Forrest residents hold

3,608 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month41%

Over $3,333 a month39%

−17%

Jobs based in Forrest, 2013 → 2023: 6,011 → 4,992. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.