River Forest is an affluent community of over 11,200 located approximately nine miles west of Downtown Chicago. The average household income in 2010 is $143, 618 and nearly three-quarters of all adults age 25 and older have a college degree.
The relatively compact Village is just 2.5 sq. mi. and is bordered by the communities of Elmwood Park on the north, Oak Park on the east, Forest Park on the south, and Melrose Park and Maywood across the Des Plaines River to the west. The North Avenue, Harlem Avenue, and Madison Street corridors, and Des Plaines River help form the borders with these communities. Lake Street passes though the heart of River Forest’s historic “Village Center” and lays adjacent to Metra’s Union Pacific West line.
