Work & commute · Forest

Work & commute in Forest, LA

Most working residents leave Forest for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Oak Grove (30%), Baton Rouge (7%) and Monroe (5%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 101 working residents

Typical commute

28 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 100 Forest residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 29 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Forest.

100live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

29work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Forest goes to work

Oak Grove5 mi away

30%30

Baton Rouge163.2 mi away

7%7

Monroe43 mi away

5%5

West Monroe47.2 mi away

4%4

Lake Village, AR37.8 mi away

3%3

Delhi23.9 mi away

3%3

Hammond167.7 mi away

3%3

Columbia61.4 mi away

2%2

Pioneer4 mi away

2%2

Lake Providence13.8 mi away

2%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%40

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

How far

How far Forest commutes

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

41%

20%

33%

41%Under 10 mi

6%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

33%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Forest is a commuter town

0.30jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Forest are

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

Jobs based in Forest

30 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month67%

Jobs Forest residents hold

101 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month48%

−23%

Jobs based in Forest, 2013 → 2023: 39 → 30. 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.