Photo: Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Forks have lower incomes than those in 73% of U.S. towns
19.5% of residents are in poverty (Washington 9.9%). Forks grades C− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 94.7 in Seattle.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Forks
The four measures behind Forks’ grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Forks is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #256 of 285 in Washington. Unemployment holds Forks’ grade up (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Forks could be anywhere from D− to B.
From Forks, about 16 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forks workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,422 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The daily flow of workers through Forks
On a workday 583 residents head out to work, 536 work right here, and 757 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 (1.16 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 Forks goes to work
Where Forks clocks in
4% of workers
3% 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.
Inside Forks’ 1,293 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Forks, 2013 → 2023: 1,071 → 1,293. 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 Forks’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Forks goes to work
About 28% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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 Forks, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Forks is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #28 of 285 in Washington. Both inputs place Forks 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 1,618 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, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 77% 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). 7.7% of Forks households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Forks’ commuters take a bus or train.
How Forks ranks: 3,609th of 4,535 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Larch Way WA | 4,424 | $160K | 1.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Clearview WA | 3,254 | $193K | 2.6% | 0.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 115 | Medina WA | 2,974 | $250K | 4.7% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,607 | Bolivar Peninsula TX | 2,951 | $76K | 12.2% | 0.0% | 14% | C− |
| 3,608 | Greenfield OH | 4,329 | $47K | 20.0% | 2.9% | 19% | C− |
| 3,609 | Forks WA | 3,488 | $60K | 19.5% | 2.8% | 48% | C− |
| 3,610 | Elk Township OH | 3,217 | $61K | 21.2% | 3.5% | 18% | C− |
| 3,611 | Violet LA | 4,122 | $51K | 17.6% | 9.4% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Forks, the top three, the last and three more from Washington.
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 Forks: questions
What is the median household income in Forks?
$60,481 (±$47,153) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forks?
19.5%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forks?
16 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forks work?
48% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Port Angeles (4%, 45 mi), Monroe (3%, 112 mi), Seattle (3%, 97 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Forks walkable?
Forks is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.8 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Forks without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Forks, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forks
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.