Work & commute · Foster

Work & commute in Foster, PA

Most working residents leave Foster for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Hazle (17%), Hazleton (6%) and West Hazleton (5%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

52 of 1,222 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 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 1,170 Foster residents head out of town to work, 52 work right here, and 520 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Foster.

1,170live here, work elsewhere

52live and work here

520work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Foster goes to work

Hazle8.8 mi away

17%204

Hazleton7.2 mi away

6%72

West Hazleton9 mi away

5%67

Foster (in town)right here

4%52

Butler6.4 mi away

4%44

Wright8.2 mi away

4%43

Wilkes-Barre16.5 mi away

3%39

Philadelphia78.9 mi away

2%24

Freeland2.1 mi away

2%22

Plains17.8 mi away

2%21

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%634

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.

30%

37%

14%

19%

30%Under 10 mi

37%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Foster is a commuter town

0.47jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Foster are

572 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

572 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Foster residents hold

1,222 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

−54%

Jobs based in Foster, 2013 → 2023: 1,240 → 572. 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.