Oxon Cove Park · Photo: Pubdog · Public domainAt 10.3%, unemployment in Forest Heights is higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
Only 1% stay in Forest Heights for work; outside it, Washington is the main destination (33%, 7 miles). The two grades for Forest Heights are B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Measured by household income, Forest Heights is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Forest Heights apart on work
Many Forest Heights workers cross into Washington, D.C.
50% of Forest Heights workers work outside Maryland, most of them in Washington, D.C., the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Forest Heights’ working residents have a job less than 7 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 33 minutes, longer than the Maryland average of 31. Time on the road ↓
Forest Heights and Washington trade workers both ways
Washington is the top workplace for Forest Heights residents (33%) and also where the most people who work in Forest Heights come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Forest Heights
69% of Forest Heights residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 48% of the jobs based in Forest Heights pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Jobs & income in Forest Heights: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Forest Heights is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #165 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Forest Heights’ grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Forest Heights could be anywhere from B to A.
Where Forest Heights goes to work
Where Forest Heights clocks in
33% 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.
Getting to work from Forest Heights takes about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forest Heights workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 961 commuters (the 19% who work from home are left out). Across Maryland: 80% drive alone, 5% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The kinds of work in Forest Heights
832 jobs are based in Forest Heights.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Forest Heights, 2013 → 2023: 886 → 832. 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 Heights’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Forest Heights quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,112 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 816 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Forest Heights on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.74 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Forest Heights
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.
Forest Heights is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.0% across Maryland.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,186 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 1% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 45.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.2% of Forest Heights households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Forest Heights’ commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Forest Heights is 1,226th among 5,083 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Cabin John MD | 2,179 | $250K | 0.8% | 0.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Brown Station MD | 3,451 | $169K | 3.3% | 1.2% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,224 | Mahoning Township PA | 2,649 | $65K | 5.3% | 2.6% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,225 | South Park WY | 2,093 | $116K | 3.5% | 0.0% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,226 | Forest Heights MD | 2,618 | $99K | 5.6% | 10.3% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,227 | Dundas MN | 1,833 | $116K | 1.9% | 11.7% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,228 | Sylvan Township MN | 3,030 | $95K | 6.4% | 2.1% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Forest Heights, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Next door to Forest Heights
The biggest share goes to National Harbor (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Forest Heights workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Heights | – | B+ | A− | 33 min | $98,734 |
| Glassmanor | under 2% | C+ | A+ | 34 min | $66,327 |
| Oxon Hill | under 2% | A− | A | 39 min | $93,252 |
| National Harbor | 4% | B | A+ | 35 min | $109,707 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Forest Heights’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Heights: questions
What is the median household income in Forest Heights?
$98,734 (±$8,099) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forest Heights?
5.6%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forest Heights?
33 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forest Heights work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (33%, 7 mi), Alexandria (5%, 4 mi), Arlington (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Forest Heights walkable?
Forest Heights is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Forest Heights without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 1% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Forest Heights, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forest Heights
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.