HomeMinnesotaWashington CountyForest Lake
Forest Lake, Minnesota: commercial real estate data.
Forest Lake is a Census city of 20,729 people across 30.54 square miles of land, in Washington County. Median household income is $92,944, 72.9 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 47 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $21.9 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Forest Lake
What Forest Lake is
- Census place typecity
- Land area30.54 sq mi
- Water area4.98 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land679
- County holding the largest share of its areaWashington County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Forest Lake
How many people live in Forest Lake
- Population20,729
- Median age39.6
- Population under 184,814
- Share under 1823.2 percent
- Population 65 and over3,501
- Share 65 and over16.9 percent
- Households8,286
- Family households5,569
- Share of households that are families67.2 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Forest Lake
Income and work in Forest Lake
- Median household income$92,944
- Per capita income$46,249
- Civilian labor force11,831
- Employed11,322
- Unemployed509 plus or minus 275
- Unemployment rate4.3 percent plus or minus 2.3
- Adults 25 and over14,090
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher94.6 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher35.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree11.7 percent plus or minus 2.9
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Forest Lake
Housing in Forest Lake
- Housing units8,723
- Occupied units8,286
- Vacant units437 plus or minus 200
- Vacancy rate5.0 percent plus or minus 2.3
- Owner occupied6,042
- Renter occupied2,244
- Ownership rate72.9 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$393,500
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,421
- Annual rent as a share of median income18.3 percent
- Single family units6,406
- Share single family73.4 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more2,143 plus or minus 448
- Share in buildings of two or more24.6 percent plus or minus 5.0
- Mobile homes174 plus or minus 114
- Median year structure built1988
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Forest Lake
How Forest Lake gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute9,126
- Commuting under 15 minutes2,994
- Share commuting under 15 minutes32.8 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more3,604
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more39.5 percent
- Drove alone72.2 percent
- Carpooled6.6 percent plus or minus 1.8
- Public transport0.2 percent plus or minus 0.3
- Walked2.5 percent plus or minus 0.9
- Worked from home17.7 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Forest Lake
SBA loans in Forest Lake (7(a))
- Approvals47
- Gross approval$21,855,700
- Average approval$465,015
- Median approval$150,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,142,800
- Largest approval$5,000,000
- Jobs supported607
- Jobs per approval12.9
- Loans with a final outcome5
- Paid in full5
- Charged off0
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more17.0 percent
- Share to franchises6.4 percent
- Distinct lenders19
- Distinct industries by NAICS35
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Forest Lake, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026. Only 5 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Forest Lake
SBA loans in Forest Lake (504)
- Approvals16
- Gross approval$10,316,000
- Average approval$644,750
- Median approval$390,000
- Largest approval$2,080,000
- Jobs supported94
- Loans with a final outcome8
- Charged off1
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs4
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Forest Lake, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 8 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Forest Lake
Flood risk in Forest Lake
- NFIP communityCity of Forest Lake
- NFIP community number270693
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classNone
- Currently effective map date02/03/10
The City of Forest Lake participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 270693 and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies to it.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Washington County, not Forest Lake
Washington County context, not Forest Lake figures
- Establishments in Washington County6,542
- Covered employment, Washington County95,625
- Average annual pay, Washington County$60,700
- Housing units permitted, Washington County1,397
Every figure in this section is published for Washington County as a whole and is not a measurement of Forest Lake.
All Washington County figures →
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Forest Lake questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Forest Lake, Minnesota?
20,729, in 8,286 households. Forest Lake city covers 30.54 square miles of land, which is 679 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Forest Lake in?
Washington County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Forest Lake?
$92,944. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $393,500. Median gross rent is $1,421 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Forest Lake businesses?
47 7(a) approvals totaling $21.9 m since FY2020, across 19 lenders, median approval $150,000, plus 16 504 approvals worth $10.3 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Forest Lake, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Forest Lake borrowers get paid back?
No rate is published for Forest Lake. Only 5 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published. The counts are shown instead.
Is Forest Lake in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Forest Lake appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Forest Lake, city of, community 270693, with no Community Rating System class, so no CRS discount applies. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Forest Lake figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Washington County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Forest Lake.
Is zoning published for Forest Lake?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.
Nearby