Photo: M.O. Stevens · Public domainHousehold incomes in Forest Grove top those of 66% of U.S. towns
15.4% of residents are in poverty; Oregon has 11.9%. For jobs and income Forest Grove is better than 52% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (A+). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 19.6 in Portland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Forest Grove and work: the main findings
Forest Grove and Hillsboro trade workers both ways
Hillsboro is the top workplace for Forest Grove residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Forest Grove come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Forest Grove workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 23 across Oregon. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Forest Grove
Household income holds Forest Grove’s grade up ($87,933, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Forest Grove could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
22% of working residents work in Hillsboro
Where Forest Grove clocks in
22% of workers
7% 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.
About 30 minutes to work from Forest Grove
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forest Grove workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,049 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Oregon: 80% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How a workday changes Forest Grove
On a workday 10,235 residents head out to work, 1,974 work right here, and 6,074 people come in from elsewhere.
About 23,000 people are in Forest Grove on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.66 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.
Inside Forest Grove’s 8,048 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Forest Grove, 2013 → 2023: 6,233 → 8,048. 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 Grove’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Forest Grove
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Forest Grove
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 12,580 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 76% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 32% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 87% 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). 9.3% of Forest Grove households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Forest Grove’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,509 U.S. towns of 19,000 to 37,000, Forest Grove comes 1,006th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 208 | Bethany OR | 33,106 | $168K | 4.0% | 4.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 311 | Sherwood OR | 20,535 | $110K | 4.3% | 3.5% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 350 | West Linn OR | 26,567 | $147K | 5.5% | 4.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,004 | Reisterstown MD | 25,582 | $86K | 10.7% | 9.0% | 5% | B− |
| 1,005 | Lakeside FL | 32,105 | $82K | 8.9% | 6.7% | 6% | B− |
| 1,006 | Forest Grove OR | 27,252 | $88K | 15.4% | 4.3% | 16% | B− |
| 1,007 | Lawndale CA | 29,892 | $85K | 13.0% | 9.7% | 4% | B− |
| 1,008 | Vernon CT | 30,842 | $85K | 13.4% | 6.6% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,509 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Grove, the top three, the last and three more from Oregon.
Around Forest Grove: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Cornelius (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Forest Grove workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Grove | – | B− | A+ | 30 min | $87,933 |
| Cornelius | 3% | B | A+ | 29 min | $96,273 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Forest Grove’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 Grove: questions
What is the median household income in Forest Grove?
$87,933 (±$9,916) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forest Grove?
15.4%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forest Grove?
30 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forest Grove work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hillsboro (22%, 9 mi), Portland (15%, 22 mi), Beaverton (7%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Forest Grove walkable?
Forest Grove is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.2 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Forest Grove without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 32% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Forest Grove, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forest Grove
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.