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
4%
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

MidlothianCrestwoodCountry Club HillsMarkhamOak ForestBedford ParkAlsipMokenaOak LawnLockportNew LenoxTinley ParkOrland ParkChicagoJolietChicagoTinley ParkOrland ParkOak LawnAlsipCrestwoodMokenaJolietBedford ParkOak Forest
1
Chicago16.3 mi away
22%2,824
2
Oak Forest (in town)right here
4%562
3
Tinley Park3.7 mi away
4%556
4
Orland Park5.5 mi away
4%514
5
Oak Lawn7.4 mi away
2%298
6
Alsip4.5 mi away
2%235
7
Crestwood2.8 mi away
2%205
8
Mokena8.3 mi away
1%186
9
Joliet21.3 mi away
1%163
10
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%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.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Oak Forest, ILView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map
Loading boundary…

Oak Forest is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

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