Welcome to Oak Forest ...
The city of Oak Forest is located in Cook County<1>.
The location of Oak Forest has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Oak Forest, you might consider that their post office opened in 1912.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Oak Forest has a population of 27,178 people<3> (see below for details).
Oak Forest is 650 feet [198 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Oak Forest lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Oak Forest lies within the (708) area code.
The ZIP code for Oak Forest: 60452<5>
Websites for Oak Forest ...
Official Website: www.oak-forest.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Oak Forest had an population of 27,178 people. This is a decrease of 2.8% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 3.11% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Oak Forest had a population of 27,962 people. This makes Oak Forest the county's 28th most populous community.
The population of Oak Forest represents 0.22% of the total population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 75th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 27,962 people, the population of Oak Forest has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 28,051 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Oak Forest.
Communities Also Named Oak Forest ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 26 communities that are also named Oak Forest - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas (4), Florida, Georgia (2), Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana (2), Maryland, North Carolina (4), Pennsylvania, South Carolina (3), Texas (2) and Virginia (3).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Forest.
Communities near Oak Forest ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Oak Forest.
- Chicago
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago
- Chicago is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,677,643 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chicago <6>
- Joliet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joliet
- Joliet is located in Will County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146,673 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Joliet <6>
- Cicero
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cicero have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicero
- Cicero is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 79,727 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cicero <6>
- Hammond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
- Hammond is located in Lake County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 75,342 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hammond <6>
- Bolingbrook
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolingbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolingbrook
- Bolingbrook is located in Will County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74,025 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bolingbrook <6>
- Oak Lawn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Lawn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Lawn
- Oak Lawn is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,376 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Lawn <6>
- Berwyn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwyn
- Berwyn is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53,701 people
- Oak Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- Oak Park is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,852 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Park <6>
- Downers Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downers Grove
- Downers Grove is located in DuPage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48,727 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downers Grove <6>
- Romeoville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Romeoville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romeoville
- Romeoville is located in Will County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39,770 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Romeoville <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Oak Forest. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Oak Forest.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Oak Forest. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Forest.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Forest. See our Newspapers Page for Oak Forest.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Oak Forest ...
Looking for more information about Oak Forest? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Oak Forest, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Oak Forest.
Adding Oak Forest to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Oak Forest in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Oak Forest was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Oak Forest post office opened in 1912.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Oak Forest.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Oak Forest: www.oak-forest.org/
The official website for Cook County: www.co.cook.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Cook, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Oak Forest. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Oak Forest - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Oak Forest). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Oak Forest or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |