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Work & commute · Forest

Work & commute in Forest, IA

48% of Forest’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Mason City (6%), Garner (5%) and Lake Mills (3%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
48%
894 of 1,857 working residents
Typical commute
8 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
12 min
One way, from the Census survey
Work from home
6%
of workers, from the Census survey
Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 963 Forest residents head out of town to work, 894 work right here, and 2,513 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Forest.

963live here, work elsewhere
894live and work here
2,513work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where Forest goes to work

KlemmeBuffalo CenterBrittManlyGarnerLake MillsForest CityCharles CityClear LakeCedar FallsMason CityCedar RapidsDes MoinesWaterlooMason CityGarnerLake MillsClear LakeDes MoinesBrittCedar FallsWaterlooCedar RapidsForest
1
Forest City (in town)right here
48%894
2
Mason City23.2 mi away
6%103
3
Garner11 mi away
5%88
4
Lake Mills12.2 mi away
3%52
5
Clear Lake15.7 mi away
3%48
6
Des Moines116.4 mi away
2%30
7
Britt13.8 mi away
1%19
8
Cedar Falls78.6 mi away
1%19
9
Waterloo83.8 mi away
1%19
10
Cedar Rapids133.7 mi away
1%17
Everywhere elseother towns and states
31%568

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

How far

How far Forest commutes

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

51%Under 10 mi
21%10–24 mi
6%25–50 mi
22%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

Forest is a job hub

1.83jobs per working resident
A job hub

1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Forest are

3,407 jobs are based in Forest. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Forest’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Forest

3,407 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)50%
Trade, transport & utilities13%
Services (health, schools, offices…)38%
$1,250 a month or less14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month30%
Over $3,333 a month56%

Jobs Forest residents hold

1,857 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)33%
Trade, transport & utilities18%
Services (health, schools, offices…)49%
$1,250 a month or less18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month25%
Over $3,333 a month57%
−16%

Jobs based in Forest, 2013 → 2023: 4,062 → 3,407. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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