Work & commute · Forward

Work & commute in Forward, PA

Most working residents leave Forward for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Pittsburgh (18%), West Mifflin (5%) and Elizabeth (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

44 of 1,357 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

31 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 1,313 Forward residents head out of town to work, 44 work right here, and 593 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Forward.

1,313live here, work elsewhere

44live and work here

593work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Forward goes to work

Pittsburgh14.8 mi away

18%251

West Mifflin8.7 mi away

5%68

Elizabeth5.3 mi away

4%61

Jefferson Hills4.9 mi away

4%56

Forward (in town)right here

3%44

Pleasant Hills7.3 mi away

2%33

Bethel Park9.3 mi away

2%29

Rostraver6.9 mi away

2%29

Hempfield17.3 mi away

2%25

Carroll3.9 mi away

2%22

Everywhere elseother towns and states

54%739

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

How far

How far Forward commutes

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

35%

51%

35%Under 10 mi

51%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Forward is a commuter town

0.47jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Forward are

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

Jobs based in Forward

637 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)71%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)13%

$1,250 a month or less6%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month73%

Jobs Forward residents hold

1,357 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month66%

−17%

Jobs based in Forward, 2013 → 2023: 766 → 637. 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.