Work & commute · Park Forest

Work & commute in Park Forest, IL

Most working residents leave Park Forest for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (25%), Matteson (3%) and Chicago Heights (3%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

262 of 8,665 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 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 8,403 Park Forest residents head out of town to work, 262 work right here, and 3,168 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Park Forest.

8,403live here, work elsewhere

262live and work here

3,168work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Park Forest goes to work

Chicago24.6 mi away

25%2,171

Matteson3.6 mi away

3%302

Park Forest (in town)right here

3%262

Chicago Heights3.4 mi away

3%252

University Park2.8 mi away

2%205

Joliet24 mi away

2%164

Olympia Fields2.8 mi away

2%154

Homewood5.5 mi away

2%143

Orland Park12.5 mi away

1%126

Tinley Park8.5 mi away

1%118

Everywhere elseother towns and states

55%4,768

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

How far

How far Park Forest commutes

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

31%

25%

36%

31%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

36%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Park Forest is a commuter town

0.40jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Park Forest are

3,430 jobs are based in Park Forest. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Park Forest’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Park Forest

3,430 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities3%

Services (health, schools, offices…)96%

$1,250 a month or less6%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month80%

Jobs Park Forest residents hold

8,665 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−36%

Jobs based in Park Forest, 2013 → 2023: 5,384 → 3,430. 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.