Photo: Mike Kalasnik from Fort Mill, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0At 5.0%, unemployment in Forest Park is higher than in 61% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Forest Park are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 15.3 in Cincinnati. Only 4% work in Forest Park itself; outside it, Cincinnati draws the most (21%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Forest Park: the gist
Forest Park trades workers with the towns around it
Forest Park has about as many jobs (8,146) as working residents (8,544), but they are mostly different people: 8,228 residents leave for work each day while 7,830 people come in. Only 4% of the jobs in Forest Park are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Forest Park draws workers from far and wide
The 8,146 jobs in Forest Park are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 29%; the other 67% 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Forest Park
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Forest Park is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #501 of 992 in Ohio. Job access by car holds Forest Park’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Forest Park could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Who leaves Forest Park for work, and who comes in
On a workday 8,228 residents head out to work, 316 work right here, and 7,830 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 (0.95 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.
Out of Forest Park to work: where people go
Where Forest Park clocks in
21% of workers
6% 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.
Forest Park makes things: 31% of its jobs are in goods
8,146 jobs are based in Forest Park.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Forest Park, 2013 → 2023: 9,152 → 8,146. 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 Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Forest Park: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forest Park workers work from home, vs 13% across Ohio. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,328 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Ohio: 86% 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.
Where in the region Forest Park works
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.
In Forest Park, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Forest Park is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #83 of 993 in Ohio. Both inputs place Forest Park 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 10,528 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 55% 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 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 4.3% of Forest Park households have no vehicle (Ohio 7.5%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Forest Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Forest Park is 1,055th among 1,860 U.S. towns of 14,000 to 27,000
| # | 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 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Powell OH | 18,269 | $195K | 1.1% | 2.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Hudson OH | 23,085 | $171K | 3.7% | 1.3% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Avon OH | 25,611 | $136K | 3.0% | 1.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,053 | Seminole FL | 18,997 | $76K | 9.4% | 5.3% | 5% | B |
| 1,054 | Wyandotte MI | 24,072 | $72K | 13.0% | 3.5% | 11% | B |
| 1,055 | Forest Park OH | 20,041 | $76K | 10.6% | 5.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,056 | North Myrtle Beach SC | 21,346 | $73K | 7.4% | 4.0% | 26% | B |
| 1,057 | Westminster MD | 20,589 | $86K | 10.0% | 5.2% | 13% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,860 | 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 Park, the top three, the last and three more from Ohio.
Next door is work for 12% of Forest Park
The biggest share goes to Fairfield (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Forest Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Park | – | B | A− | 24 min | $75,956 |
| Springfield Township | under 2% | B− | B+ | 24 min | $73,682 |
| Pleasant Run Farm | under 2% | B+ | B | 27 min | $73,725 |
| Springdale | 5% | B− | B+ | 20 min | $67,903 |
| Pleasant Run | under 2% | B− | C− | 24 min | $79,537 |
| Fairfield | 7% | B | B− | 24 min | $77,937 |
| Colerain Township | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 24 min | $73,103 |
| New Burlington | under 2% | C+ | C | 28 min | $72,733 |
| Greenhills | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 25 min | $70,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Forest Park’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 Park: questions
What is the median household income in Forest Park?
$75,956 (±$7,172) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,389 across Ohio and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forest Park?
10.6%, against 13.3% across Ohio and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forest Park?
24 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Ohio and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forest Park work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cincinnati (21%, 10 mi), Fairfield (7%, 3 mi), West Chester Township (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Forest Park walkable?
Forest Park is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Forest Park without a car?
3% 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 Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forest Park
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.