Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Forest has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Employers in Forest report 30 jobs, and 101 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any stay in Forest for work; outside it, Oak Grove is the main destination (30%, 5 miles). Working residents average 20 minutes each way; Louisiana averages 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Forest
On a workday 100 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 29 people come in from elsewhere.
About 210 people are in Forest on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Forest to work: where people go
Where Forest clocks in
30% of workers
7% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
67% of the jobs in Forest pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Forest’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 20 minutes each way for Forest’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forest workers work from home, vs 8% across Louisiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 130 commuters (the 4% who work from home are left out). Across Louisiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Miles to work from Forest
About 33% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Forest: questions
What is the median household income in Forest?
$40,347 (±$13,886) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $60,756 across Louisiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forest?
20.2%, against 18.9% across Louisiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forest?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Louisiana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forest work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oak Grove (30%, 5 mi), Baton Rouge (7%, 163 mi), Monroe (5%, 43 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Forest without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Forest, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forest
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.