Work & commute · Foster

Work & commute in Foster, MN

Most working residents leave Foster for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Blue Earth (19%), Fairmont (6%) and Mankato (6%). Half commute less than 39 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

3 of 53 working residents

Typical commute

39 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 50 Foster residents head out of town to work, 3 work right here, and 11 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Foster.

50live here, work elsewhere

3live and work here

11work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Foster goes to work

Blue Earth19 mi away

19%10

Fairmont37.2 mi away

6%3

Mankato39 mi away

6%3

Foster (in town)right here

6%3

Rochester67.1 mi away

4%2

Brush Creek5 mi away

4%2

Hospers, IA116.5 mi away

2%1

Hartley, IA93.7 mi away

2%1

Estherville, IA58.2 mi away

2%1

Sioux City, IA156.2 mi away

2%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%26

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.

17%

25%

19%

40%

17%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

40%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Foster is a commuter town

0.26jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Foster are

14 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

14 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities86%

Services (health, schools, offices…)0%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month43%

Over $3,333 a month43%

Jobs Foster residents hold

53 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month45%

−36%

Jobs based in Foster, 2013 → 2023: 22 → 14. 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.