With 8,624 people, Park Forest is a city in Pennsylvania. This is an unusually credentialed place: 77% of adults have a four-year degree. The average commute runs 14 minutes. Density works out to 3,461 people per square mile. 21.5% of people here live below the federal poverty line. Owners hold 56% of the housing stock.
At a glance
Average income
median household income $79,120, near the US median
US median: $82,259
Mid-age
median age 38.2
US median: 38.9
More educated
77% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 41%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Park Forest
What changed most since 1990
Homes owned by their occupants72.2% → 55.6%(−16.5 pts)US over the same years: +0.9 pts
Poverty rate7.1% → 21.5%(+14.4 pts)US over the same years: −0.8 pts
Median household income (2024 dollars)$109,791 → $79,120(−28%)US over the same years: +14%
Park Forest's population equals 5.4% of Centre County's. Its number of foreign-born residents equals 13% of the county's. Its number of people who work from home equals 10% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)16.2%(58)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)14.3%(51)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era36.4%(130)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War5.6%(20)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0%(0)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 357 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Park Forest, decade by decade
Park Forest population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
6,703
$109,791
$287,048
61.5%
21.9
2000
8,830
$86,691
$275,616
66.0%
37.3
2010
9,660
$74,212
$311,019
71.7%
43.8
2020
8,831
$78,700
$386,034
69.0%
62.4
2024
8,624
$79,120
$389,600
77.4%
54.2
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
