A job hub: Forest has 2.7 jobs per working resident, and 338 people come in to work
Forest has 344 jobs for 129 working residents. Only 5% work in Forest; the top destination outside it is Richland Center (14%, 17 miles). 30% of workers have no commute at all (Wisconsin 13%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Forest on a workday
On a workday 123 residents head out to work and 6 work right here.
About 570 people are in Forest on a workday afternoon, 61% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting in to Forest: where workers come from
Where Forest clocks in
8% 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.
A place that makes things: 73% of Forest’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Forest, 2014 → 2024: 34 → 344. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Forest’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Forest: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forest workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 121 commuters (the 30% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 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.
How far it is to work from Forest
About 31% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Work in the towns next to Forest
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Forest workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest | – | — | — | 26 min | $67,813 |
| Viola | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Bloom | under 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Sylvan | under 3% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Stark | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Liberty | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Viola, Bloom, Sylvan, Stark and Liberty: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Forest’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 2024, 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: questions
What is the median household income in Forest?
$67,813 (±$18,241) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forest?
8.4%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forest?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forest work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Richland Center (14%, 17 mi), Reedsburg (8%, 32 mi), Madison (7%, 67 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Forest without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Forest, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forest
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.