Work & commute · Oak Forest

Work & commute in Oak Forest, IL

Most working residents leave Oak Forest for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (22%), Tinley Park (4%) and Orland Park (4%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

562 of 12,732 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 12,170 Oak Forest residents head out of town to work, 562 work right here, and 5,400 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Oak Forest.

12,170live here, work elsewhere

562live and work here

5,400work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Oak Forest goes to work

Chicago16.3 mi away

22%2,824

Oak Forest (in town)right here

4%562

Tinley Park3.7 mi away

4%556

Orland Park5.5 mi away

4%514

Oak Lawn7.4 mi away

2%298

Alsip4.5 mi away

2%235

Crestwood2.8 mi away

2%205

Mokena8.3 mi away

1%186

Joliet21.3 mi away

1%163

Bedford Park11.2 mi away

1%160

Everywhere elseother towns and states

55%7,029

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

How far

How far Oak Forest commutes

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

38%

42%

13%

38%Under 10 mi

42%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Oak Forest is a commuter town

0.47jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Oak Forest are

5,962 jobs are based in Oak Forest. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Oak Forest’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Oak Forest

5,962 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Oak Forest residents hold

12,732 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+4%

Jobs based in Oak Forest, 2013 → 2023: 5,749 → 5,962. 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.