Photo: Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 3.0Foster City’s household incomes are higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.5 in San Francisco. Below the poverty line: 4.1% of residents; California has 12.0%. Jobs and income earn Foster City A; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Foster City
Foster City trades workers with the towns around it
Foster City has about as many jobs (19,316) as working residents (17,342), but they are mostly different people: 15,959 residents leave for work each day while 17,933 people come in. Only 7% of the jobs in Foster City are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Foster City
34% of Foster City workers work from home, against 17% across California. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
83% of Foster City’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data, and so do 86% of the jobs based in Foster City. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in Foster City is services
87% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Foster City draws workers from far and wide
The 19,316 jobs in Foster City are filled from a wide area. Foster City’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 37%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Foster City
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Foster City is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #57 of 847 in California. Household income holds Foster City’s grade up ($199,143, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Foster City could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Who leaves Foster City for work, and who comes in
On a workday 15,959 residents head out to work, 1,383 work right here, and 17,933 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.11 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Foster City’s commute takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Foster City workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,951 commuters (the 34% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Services make up most of the work in Foster City
19,316 jobs are based in Foster City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Foster City, 2013 → 2023: 20,528 → 19,316. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Foster City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
18% of working residents work in San Francisco
Where Foster City clocks in
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
How far Foster City’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Foster City, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Foster City is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #148 of 847 in California. Both inputs place Foster City near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 16,647 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 32% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 10% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.7% of Foster City households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Foster City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 23,000 to 44,000, Foster City ranks 208th of 1,283 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Manhattan Beach CA | 33,122 | $204K | 4.5% | 3.8% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Saratoga CA | 30,418 | $250K | 3.3% | 4.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Lafayette CA | 25,313 | $228K | 2.9% | 4.3% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Upper Allen Township PA | 24,700 | $99K | 4.3% | 2.7% | 7% | A |
| 207 | Brownsburg IN | 34,089 | $102K | 7.5% | 1.6% | 11% | A |
| 208 | Foster City CA | 32,411 | $199K | 4.1% | 4.9% | 8% | A |
| 209 | Edmonds WA | 42,748 | $122K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 7% | A |
| 210 | Bristol Township IL | 36,464 | $109K | 3.0% | 3.5% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,283 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Foster City, the top three, the last and three more from California.
The towns next door employ 13% of Foster City
The biggest share goes to San Mateo (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Foster City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foster City | – | A | A | 29 min | $199,143 |
| San Mateo | 8% | A− | A+ | 26 min | $153,504 |
| Redwood City | 5% | A | A | 24 min | $157,814 |
| Belmont | under 3% | A− | A | 29 min | $205,297 |
| Hayward | under 3% | B+ | A | 32 min | $113,318 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Foster City’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Foster City: questions
What is the median household income in Foster City?
$199,143 (±$11,786) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Foster City?
4.1%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Foster City?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Foster City work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are San Francisco (18%, 17 mi), San Mateo (8%, 3 mi), Redwood City (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Foster City walkable?
Foster City is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Foster City without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 10% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Foster City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Foster City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.