Photo: Lectrician2 · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Forest Lake top those of 71% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Forest Lake A−; getting around on foot earns it B+. The poverty rate is 7.0% (Minnesota 9.3%). About one in seven stay in Forest Lake for work; outside it, Minneapolis is the main destination (10%, 25 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Forest Lake, in a few figures
The quickest commute around
Forest Lake’s 24-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 27 to 33 minutes. Next door ↓
Forest Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Forest Lake is Minneapolis, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 10% of working residents (1,017) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Forest Lake
69% of Forest Lake residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 51% of the jobs based in Forest Lake pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 86% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Forest Lake draws workers from far and wide
The 7,247 jobs in Forest Lake are filled from a wide area. Forest Lake’s own residents hold 19% and the ten next-biggest home towns 26%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Forest Lake’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Forest Lake is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #126 of 273 in Minnesota. Job access by car holds Forest Lake’s grade up (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%). 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 Lake could be anywhere from B to A+.
Near or far: the trip to work from Forest Lake
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.
Jobs in Forest Lake: what the 7,247 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Forest Lake, 2013 → 2023: 6,035 → 7,247. 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 Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Forest Lake to work: where people go
Where Forest Lake clocks in
10% of workers
9% of workers
4% 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.
How many people are in Forest Lake by day
On a workday 8,510 residents head out to work, 1,399 work right here, and 5,848 people come in from elsewhere.
About 18,000 people are in Forest Lake on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.73 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.
Commuting from Forest Lake: about 24 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forest Lake workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,126 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Minnesota: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Most of Forest Lake commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Forest Lake is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #137 of 273 in Minnesota. Both inputs place Forest Lake 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 11,092 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 3.8% of Forest Lake households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Forest Lake’s commuters take a bus or train.
Forest Lake places 637th of 1,705 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 15,000 to 28,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Hugo MN | 17,167 | $116K | 2.8% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 39 | Otsego MN | 24,525 | $120K | 3.5% | 1.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 635 | Takoma Park MD | 17,260 | $108K | 9.1% | 4.9% | 3% | A− |
| 636 | Walker MI | 25,881 | $76K | 7.6% | 2.9% | 11% | A− |
| 637 | Forest Lake MN | 20,952 | $93K | 7.0% | 4.3% | 14% | A− |
| 638 | La Vista NE | 16,543 | $82K | 7.5% | 3.4% | 5% | A− |
| 639 | Mount Washington KY | 18,989 | $96K | 5.3% | 4.6% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,705 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Lake, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
Forest Lake and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Wyoming (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Forest Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Lake | – | A− | B+ | 24 min | $92,944 |
| Scandia | under 2% | A+ | C− | 33 min | $101,953 |
| Hugo | under 2% | A+ | C | 27 min | $116,228 |
| Columbus | under 2% | A+ | C | 29 min | $123,194 |
| Wyoming | 2% | A | C+ | 29 min | $107,565 |
| Chisago City | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 30 min | $102,197 |
| Chisago Lake Township | under 2% | A | C | 30 min | $133,220 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Forest Lake’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 Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Forest Lake?
$92,944 (±$8,689) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forest Lake?
7.0%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forest Lake?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forest Lake work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Minneapolis (10%, 25 mi), St. Paul (9%, 22 mi), Edina (4%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Forest Lake walkable?
Forest Lake is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Forest Lake without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Forest Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forest Lake
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.