Work & commute · Forest Lake

Work & commute in Forest Lake, MN

Most working residents leave Forest Lake for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Minneapolis (10%), St. Paul (9%) and Edina (4%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

1,399 of 9,909 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,510 Forest Lake residents head out of town to work, 1,399 work right here, and 5,848 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Forest Lake.

8,510live here, work elsewhere

1,399live and work here

5,848work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Forest Lake goes to work

Forest Lake (in town)right here

14%1,399

Minneapolis24.7 mi away

10%1,017

St. Paul21.9 mi away

9%909

Edina31.4 mi away

4%389

Blaine12.9 mi away

3%288

Roseville18.6 mi away

2%236

Wyoming6.1 mi away

2%234

White Bear Lake13 mi away

2%225

Plymouth28.9 mi away

2%195

Fridley18.3 mi away

2%185

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%4,832

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

How far

How far Forest Lake commutes

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

22%

47%

26%

22%Under 10 mi

47%10–24 mi

26%25–50 mi

5%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Forest Lake is a commuter town

0.73jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Forest Lake are

7,247 jobs are based in Forest Lake. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Forest Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Forest Lake

7,247 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Forest Lake residents hold

9,909 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+20%

Jobs based in Forest Lake, 2013 → 2023: 6,035 → 7,247. 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.