Work & commute · River Forest

Work & commute in River Forest, IL

Most working residents leave River Forest for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Chicago (46%), Oak Park (6%) and Naperville (1%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

241 of 4,890 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

27%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,649 River Forest residents head out of town to work, 241 work right here, and 3,902 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in River Forest.

4,649live here, work elsewhere

241live and work here

3,902work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where River Forest goes to work

Chicago8 mi away

46%2,225

Oak Park1.6 mi away

6%301

River Forest (in town)right here

5%241

Naperville20.3 mi away

1%71

Schaumburg16.5 mi away

1%68

Melrose Park2.4 mi away

1%61

Oak Brook8 mi away

1%59

Maywood1.7 mi away

1%57

Downers Grove12.5 mi away

1%56

Elmhurst6.4 mi away

1%53

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%1,698

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

How far

How far River Forest commutes

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

64%

27%

64%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

4%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

River Forest is balanced between jobs and homes

0.85jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.85 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in River Forest are

4,143 jobs are based in River Forest. Here is what they are, next to the jobs River Forest’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in River Forest

4,143 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less27%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs River Forest residents hold

4,890 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month16%

Over $3,333 a month73%

+10%

Jobs based in River Forest, 2013 → 2023: 3,779 → 4,143. 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.