Work & commute · Foster

Work & commute in Foster, IL

Most working residents leave Foster for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Salem (18%), Mount Vernon (8%) and Centralia (7%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 148 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

42 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 146 Foster residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 19 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Foster.

146live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

19work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Foster goes to work

Salem10.6 mi away

18%26

Mount Vernon32.4 mi away

8%12

Centralia19.9 mi away

7%11

Tonti6.4 mi away

3%5

Marion72.3 mi away

3%4

Springfield78.7 mi away

3%4

Patoka6.2 mi away

3%4

Carlyle24.7 mi away

2%3

O'Fallon52.8 mi away

2%3

Chicago221.6 mi away

2%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%73

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

How far

How far Foster commutes

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

21%

30%

16%

33%

21%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

33%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Foster is a commuter town

0.14jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Foster are

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

Jobs based in Foster

21 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)62%

Trade, transport & utilities33%

Services (health, schools, offices…)5%

$1,250 a month or less38%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Foster residents hold

148 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+50%

Jobs based in Foster, 2013 → 2023: 14 → 21. 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.