River Forest is a medium-sized village located in the state of Illinois. With a population of 11,909 people and two associated neighborhoods, River Forest is the 201st largest community in Illinois. River Forest has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic villages in the country. River Forest home prices are not only among the most expensive in Illinois, but River Forest real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.River Forest is a decidedly white-collar village, with fully 92.64% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, River Forest is a village of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in River Forest who work in management occupations (18.98%), healthcare (11.26%), and business and financial occupations (10.43%). Also of interest is that River Forest has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. A relatively large number of people in River Forest telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 26.80% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.Because there are quite a few people attending college in River Forest, it is thought of as a college town. To the benefit of the many students in the area, River Forest provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards their needs and activities. In River Forest, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.23 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the village is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In River Forest, a lot of people use the subway to get to work every day though River Forest is a relatively small village. Those that ride the subway are primarily traveling out of town to good jobs in other cities.If knowledge is power, River Forest is a pretty powerful place. 72.86% of the adults in River Forest have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in River Forest in 2022 was $91,438, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $365,752 for a family of four. River Forest is a very ethnically-diverse village. The people who call River Forest home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of River Forest residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in River Forest include Irish, German, Italian, Polish, and English. The most common language spoken in River Forest is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
