Forest City is a very small city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 4,261 people and just one neighborhood, Forest City is the 113th largest community in Iowa.
Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Forest City is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Forest City is a city of sales and office workers, professionals, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Forest City who work in office and administrative support (11.49%), teaching (10.64%), and sales jobs (9.57%).
Of important note, Forest City is also a city of artists. Forest City has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Forest City’s character.
Also of interest is that Forest City has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
One of the benefits of Forest City is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 16.30 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
In terms of college education, Forest City is somewhat better educated than the 21.84% who have a 4-year degree or higher in the typical US community: 25.49% of adults 25 and older in the city have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Forest City in 2022 was $31,414, which is lower middle income relative to Iowa, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $125,656 for a family of four. However, Forest City contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Forest City is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Forest City home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Forest City residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Forest City include German, Norwegian, Irish, English, and Danish.
The most common language spoken in Forest City is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Tagalog.
Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Forest City, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
Regardless of the means by which residents commute, this neighborhood has a length of commute that is notable. Residents of the neighborhood have the pleasure of having one of the shortest commutes to work of any neighborhood in America. 70.3% of the residents have a commute time from home to work (one way) of less than fifteen minutes. This is a higher proportion of residents enjoying a short trip to work than NeighborhoodScout found in 98.5% of U.S. neighborhoods. Less time commuting means more time for other things in life.
One of the really interesting characteristics about the neighborhood is that, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research, it is an excellent choice in which to reside for college students. Due to its popularity among college students who already choose to live here, its walkability, and its above average safety from crime, the neighborhood is ideal for prospective or already-enrolled college students. Between semesters and during school breaks, you'll notice that the excitement here fluctuates with the college seasons. Despite the excitement however, parents of college-age children can rest easy knowing that this neighborhood has an above average safety rating. For each of these reasons, the neighborhood is rated among the top 1.9% of college-friendly places to live in the state of Iowa.
In addition, neighborhoodScout's analysis shows that the neighborhood has a greater concentration of residents currently enrolled in college than 96.5% of the neighborhoods in the U.S. With 13.3% of the population here attending college, this is very much a college-focused neighborhood.
Also, there is an especially high percentage of incarcerated people (0.8%) living in the neighborhood.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Norwegian and Danish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 20.1% of this neighborhood's residents have Norwegian ancestry and 4.0% have Danish ancestry.
How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Forest City are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 70.6% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 5.0% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 64.5% of America's neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the neighborhood, 32.7% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 31.1% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (20.2%), and 16.0% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 89.1% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (2.4%).
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the neighborhood in Forest City, IA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (40.9%). There are also a number of people of Norwegian ancestry (20.1%), and residents who report Asian roots (7.7%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (6.7%), along with some English ancestry residents (4.6%), among others.
Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (70.3% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (76.5%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (12.4%) and 5.6% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.