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Work & commute in Forestdale · A commuter town

99% of Forestdale’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Forestdale for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Sandwich (21%), Barnstable Town (17%) and Falmouth (7%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Work in town
1%
20 of 1,831 working residents
Typical commute
12 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
28 min
Less than MA (29 min)
Work from home
5%
Less than MA (19%)
Jobs based here
262
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Forestdale?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

21% of working residents work in Sandwich

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

New BedfordBoston: 83 residents work here (5%)Barnstable Town: 315 residents work here (17%)Harwich: 27 residents work here (1%)Dennis: 40 residents work here (2%)Plymouth: 53 residents work here (3%)Mashpee: 112 residents work here (6%)Sandwich: 387 residents work here (21%)Yarmouth: 64 residents work here (3%)Bourne: 85 residents work here (5%)RochesterWarehamFalmouth: 120 residents work here (7%)ForestdaleSandwichBarnstable TownFalmouthMashpeeBourneBostonForestdale
1
Sandwich2.4 mi away
21%387
2
Barnstable Town8.1 mi away
17%315
3
Falmouth7.6 mi away
7%120
4
Mashpee4.6 mi away
6%112
5
Bourne4.8 mi away
5%85
6
Boston51.8 mi away
5%83
7
Yarmouth14.7 mi away
3%64
8
Plymouth15 mi away
3%53
9
Dennis17.9 mi away
2%40
10
Harwich22.8 mi away
1%27
Everywhere elseother towns and states
30%545
The top trips

Where Forestdale clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Next door

27% of Forestdale works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Sandwich (21%). Darker towns draw more of Forestdale’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Mashpee27 min
Sandwich28 min
Forestdale28 min
Day and night

Forestdale quiets down on a workday

On a workday 1,811 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 242 people come in from elsewhere.

1,811live here, work elsewhere
20live and work here
242work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night3,800
Workday2,200
3,800live here− 1,800head out to work+ 240come in to work= 2,200on a workday

About 2,200 people are in Forestdale on a workday afternoon, 41% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.14jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Forestdale commutes less than 12 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi60 miSandwich: 21% · 2.4 miBarnstable Town: 17% · 8.1 miFalmouth: 7% · 7.6 miMashpee: 6% · 4.6 miBourne: 5% · 4.8 miBoston: 5% · 51.8 miYarmouth: 3% · 14.7 miPlymouth: 3% · 15 miDennis: 2% · 17.9 miHarwich: 1% · 22.8 miSandwich 21%Barnstable Town 17%Falmouth 7%Mashpee 6%Bourne 5%Forestdale
ForestdaleTop destinations (size = commuters)
40%Under 10 mi739 residents
29%10–24 mi530 residents
11%25–50 mi196 residents
20%Over 50 mi365 residents

About 20% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

What the 262 jobs in Forestdale are

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

Jobs based in ForestdaleJobs Forestdale residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms13%13%
Trade, transport & utilities16%18%
Services: health, schools, offices71%69%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less15%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month31%20%
Over $3,333 a month55%68%

Who does it

29 or younger22%19%
30 to 5449%48%
55 and older29%32%
+32%

Jobs based in Forestdale, 2013 → 2023: 198 → 262. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

About 28 minutes each way, about the MA average

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
214 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Forestdale28 min
Massachusetts29 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
5%

of Forestdale workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Forestdale

Forestdale home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Forestdale, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
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Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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