Work & commute · Forest Lake

Work & commute in Forest Lake, IL

Most working residents leave Forest Lake for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (17%), Schaumburg (4%) and Lincolnshire (3%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 894 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 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 893 Forest Lake residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 87 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Forest Lake.

893live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

87work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Forest Lake goes to work

Chicago32 mi away

17%148

Schaumburg12.8 mi away

4%34

Lincolnshire7 mi away

3%30

Lake Zurich2 mi away

3%25

Vernon Hills4.9 mi away

3%23

Mundelein4.6 mi away

2%22

Libertyville7.4 mi away

2%22

Northbrook12.5 mi away

2%20

Arlington Heights8.7 mi away

2%19

Glenview14.5 mi away

2%18

Everywhere elseother towns and states

60%533

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

How far

How far Forest Lake commutes

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

32%

37%

24%

32%Under 10 mi

37%10–24 mi

24%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Forest Lake is a commuter town

0.10jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.10 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Forest Lake are

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

Jobs based in Forest Lake

88 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)45%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)44%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Forest Lake residents hold

894 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month76%

−76%

Jobs based in Forest Lake, 2013 → 2023: 372 → 88. 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.