Welcome to Park Forest ...
The village of Park Forest is primarily located in Cook County<1>. A portion of Park Forest extends into Will County.
Google driving directions from your current location to Park Forest
While we don't have a date for the founding of Park Forest, you might consider that their post office opened in 1954.
A typical abbreviation for Park Forest: Park Frst.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Park Forest has a population of 21,177 people<2> (see below for details).
Park Forest is 700 feet [213 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Park Forest lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel south from Park Forest (for example, toward Earl Park (IN)), you will leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).
Area Codes for Park Forest: 708 & 464<4>
The ZIP code for Park Forest: 60466<5>
Websites for Park Forest ...
Official Website: www.villageofparkforest.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Park Forest had an population of 21,177 people. This is a decrease of 3.63% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 9.74% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Park Forest had a population of 21,975 people. This makes Park Forest the county's 39th most populous community.
The population of Park Forest represents 0.17% of the population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 114th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 21,975 people, the population of Park Forest decreased 6.34% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 23,462 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Park Forest.
Communities Also Named Park Forest ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 7 communities that are also named Park Forest - they are located in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia (2), Louisiana and Missouri.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Park Forest.
Communities near Park Forest ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Park Forest.
- Hammond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- 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>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Hammond
From Park Forest to Hammond
- Gary
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Gary is located in Lake County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74,693 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <6>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Gary
From Park Forest to Gary
- Orland Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orland Park
- Orland Park is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57,347 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orland Park <6>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Orland Park
From Park Forest to Orland Park
- Tinley Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tinley Park have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinley Park
- Tinley Park is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55,221 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tinley Park <6>
- Oak Lawn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Lawn have been provided by the GNIS.<7> 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>
- Calumet City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet City
- Calumet City is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35,514 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calumet City <6>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Calumet City
From Park Forest to Calumet City
- Merrillville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrillville
- Merrillville is located in Lake County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,916 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Merrillville <6>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Merrillville
From Park Forest to Merrillville
- Crown Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Point
- Crown Point is located in Lake County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,906 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crown Point <6>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Crown Point
From Park Forest to Crown Point
- Schererville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schererville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schererville
- Schererville is located in Lake County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,593 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Schererville <6>
- Burbank
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
- Burbank is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27,933 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burbank <6>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Burbank
From Park Forest to Burbank
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 Park Forest. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Park Forest.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Park 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 Park Forest.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Park Forest. See our Newspapers Page for Park Forest.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Park Forest ...
Looking for more information about Park 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 Park Forest, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Park Forest.
Adding Park Forest to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Park 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 Park Forest was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Park Forest post office opened in 1954.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Park Forest.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Park Forest: www.villageofparkforest.com/
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> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Park Forest. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Park Forest - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 708 code has been Overlayed with the 464 area code. New phone numbers in the Park Forest area will be assigned with one of these codes: 708 or 464. As a result, placing a call in the Park Forest area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <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 village (such as Park Forest). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Park 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> | 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. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |