Work & commute · Forest

Work & commute in Forest, VA

Most working residents leave Forest for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Lynchburg (40%), Bedford (6%) and Roanoke (3%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

422 of 4,524 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 4,102 Forest residents head out of town to work, 422 work right here, and 5,292 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Forest.

4,102live here, work elsewhere

422live and work here

5,292work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Forest goes to work

Lynchburg4.8 mi away

40%1,787

Forest (in town)right here

9%422

Bedford13.2 mi away

6%256

Roanoke38 mi away

3%158

Timberlake4.3 mi away

3%115

Madison Heights10.6 mi away

1%61

Rustburg12 mi away

1%59

Altavista17.4 mi away

1%48

Richmond99.4 mi away

1%48

Norfolk169.9 mi away

1%37

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%1,533

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.

57%

15%

10%

18%

57%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Forest is balanced between jobs and homes

1.26jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Forest are

5,714 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

5,714 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month40%

Jobs Forest residents hold

4,524 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+8%

Jobs based in Forest, 2013 → 2023: 5,311 → 5,714. 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.