Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 3.0More people are out of work in Forestville (5.1%) than in 63% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 26.3 in Baltimore. Forestville grades B for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Only 1% work in Forestville itself; outside it, Washington draws the most (32%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Forestville at work: what stands out
Forestville trades workers with the towns around it
Forestville has about as many jobs (5,465) as working residents (5,368), but they are mostly different people: 5,300 residents leave for work each day while 5,397 people come in. Only 1% of the jobs in Forestville are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Forestville workers cross into Washington, D.C.
35% of Forestville workers work outside Maryland, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Washington (32%), Arlington (3%) and Alexandria (2%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Forestville draws workers from far and wide
The 5,465 jobs in Forestville are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 25%; the other 74% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Forestville’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 35 minutes, longer than the Maryland average of 31. Time on the road ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
46% of the jobs in Forestville are in trade, transport and utilities, against 18% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
The four measures behind Forestville’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Forestville is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #196 of 261 in Maryland. Job access by car holds Forestville’s grade up (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Forestville could be anywhere from C to A.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 5,300 residents head out to work, 68 work right here, and 5,397 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.02 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Forestville work
Where Forestville clocks in
32% of workers
3% 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.
The daily trip from Forestville: about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forestville workers work from home, vs 19% across Maryland. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,873 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.
What work there is in Forestville: 5,465 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Forestville, 2013 → 2023: 5,365 → 5,465. 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 Forestville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Forestville
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Forestville
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Forestville is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #45 of 261 in Maryland. Both inputs place Forestville near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,781 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 62% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 18% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 10.3% of Forestville households have no vehicle (Maryland 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 13% of Forestville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Forestville places 1,450th of 2,878 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Scaggsville MD | 10,564 | $207K | 2.9% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Chevy Chase MD | 9,445 | $212K | 4.3% | 1.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Annapolis Neck MD | 12,032 | $174K | 3.3% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,448 | Lovejoy GA | 12,929 | $72K | 9.2% | 4.3% | 2% | B |
| 1,449 | Bargersville IN | 11,862 | $114K | 11.9% | 6.7% | 3% | B |
| 1,450 | Forestville MD | 10,495 | $71K | 10.3% | 5.1% | 1% | B |
| 1,451 | Boiling Springs SC | 12,936 | $72K | 9.9% | 3.5% | 5% | B |
| 1,452 | Swanzey NH | 7,461 | $82K | 7.8% | 3.1% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Forestville, the top three, the last and three more from Maryland.
Work in the towns next to Forestville
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Forestville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forestville | – | B | A+ | 35 min | $70,579 |
| Morningside | under 2% | B− | A | 28 min | $69,000 |
| Walker Mill | under 2% | B | A | 39 min | $88,333 |
| District Heights | under 2% | B− | A+ | 36 min | $86,955 |
| Suitland | under 2% | C+ | A+ | 36 min | $71,585 |
| Westphalia | under 2% | A | B | 37 min | $164,197 |
| Camp Springs | under 2% | A− | A | 38 min | $120,456 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Forestville’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 Forestville: questions
What is the median household income in Forestville?
$70,579 (±$16,199) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,678 across Maryland and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forestville?
10.3%, against 9.4% across Maryland and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forestville?
35 minutes each way on average, against 31 across Maryland and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forestville work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (32%, 9 mi), Arlington (3%, 12 mi), Baltimore (3%, 34 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Forestville walkable?
Forestville is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.2 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Forestville without a car?
13% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 18% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Forestville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forestville
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.