Work & commute · Fostoria

Work & commute in Fostoria, IA

Most working residents leave Fostoria for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Spencer (26%), Milford (9%) and Royal (3%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 94 working residents

Typical commute

17 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 93 Fostoria residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 18 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Fostoria.

93live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

18work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Fostoria goes to work

Spencer6.6 mi away

26%24

Milford6.8 mi away

9%8

Royal13.9 mi away

3%3

Sheldon34.9 mi away

3%3

Storm Lake41.5 mi away

3%3

Everly9.8 mi away

2%2

Osceola167.9 mi away

2%2

Des Moines139.7 mi away

2%2

Sioux City81.1 mi away

2%2

Rossie15.9 mi away

1%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%44

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Fostoria commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

39%

17%

20%

23%

39%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Fostoria is a commuter town

0.20jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.20 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Fostoria are

19 jobs are based in Fostoria. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fostoria’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Fostoria

19 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month5%

Over $3,333 a month74%

Jobs Fostoria residents hold

94 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month55%

−27%

Jobs based in Fostoria, 2013 → 2023: 26 → 19. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.