What it's like to live in Forest Park
Forest Park is a small city in Illinois with a highly educated workforce and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Forest Park deals with air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, a population that has been shrinking, cold winters, and snowy winters.
The good
- Highly educated workforce
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Air quality concerns
- Shrinking population
- Cold winters
- Snowy winters — 42" per year
How Forest Park compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Forest Park
Based on Forest Park's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,734
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $54,680 a year
- 45% of Forest Park renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$60,940
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $30,470
- Homes cost 3.9× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,367/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,367 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $304,700. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $304,700 · 45% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.8% county unemployment
Unemployment in Cook County is 4.8%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Cook County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 25% below US
248 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 2969/100k · Forest Park Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
27 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 27.4 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 6 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% take public transit; 24% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 83°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 22°F and snow a regular occurrence.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▲ 43% above US
52% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a highly educated city, with over half the adult population holding a college degree. That tends to shape the job market and the broader culture, and it's a solid indicator of a strong professional scene.
Schools
5 public schools inside the boundary
There are 5 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Pullman National Historical Park (16 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Forest Park's strongest point is a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are air quality that falls short of national benchmarks and a population that has been shrinking. A year of median rent ($1,367/mo) equals 21% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (24% of workers here already work from home) and college-educated professionals.
Other places near Forest Park
All Illinois guides →Moving to River Forest →
2 mi away · pop. 11,992
Rent $1,554/mo · Income $146,786
Compare with Forest Park →Moving to Oak Park →
2 mi away · pop. 53,292
Rent $1,593/mo · Income $110,820
Compare with Forest Park →Not sure Forest Park is the one?
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