Unemployment in Foley (2.6%) is lower than in 76% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Foley; the top destination outside it is St. Cloud (23%, 16 miles). For jobs and income Foley is better than 43% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (A). 10% of workers work from home, next to 18% for Minnesota as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Foley apart
Foley is where the jobs are
Foley has 1,874 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Foley and St. Cloud trade workers both ways
St. Cloud is the top workplace for Foley residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Foley come from (10% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Foley workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 23 across Minnesota. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The biggest group of Foley’s workers comes from St. Cloud
179 of the people who work in Foley live in St. Cloud, 16 miles away, more than from any other town. 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Foley
Unemployment holds Foley’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($58,833, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Foley could be anywhere from C− to B+.
A workday in Foley: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 951 residents head out to work, 218 work right here, and 1,656 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Foley on a workday afternoon, 27% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Who travels to work in Foley, and from where
Where Foley clocks in
23% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
The daily trip from Foley: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Foley workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,133 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Minnesota: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Foley makes things: 30% of its jobs are in goods
1,874 jobs are based in Foley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Foley, 2013 → 2023: 2,254 → 1,874. 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 Foley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Foley commutes less than 16 miles
About 21% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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 Foley, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,258 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 10.1% of Foley households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Foley’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,572nd of 4,797: where Foley ranks among U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Greenfield MN | 2,962 | $154K | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Empire MN | 3,063 | $148K | 1.9% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | May Township MN | 2,638 | $137K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,570 | Dorset VT | 2,113 | $111K | 11.2% | 4.3% | 17% | C+ |
| 2,571 | Hilltop SC | 2,950 | $37K | 17.0% | 2.4% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,572 | Foley MN | 2,650 | $59K | 14.3% | 2.6% | 19% | C+ |
| 2,573 | Greenup Township IL | 2,208 | $58K | 8.3% | 2.3% | 22% | C+ |
| 2,574 | Windsor ME | 2,758 | $63K | 7.5% | 3.5% | 4% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,797 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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 Foley, the top three, the last and three more from Minnesota.
The towns around Foley
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Foley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foley | – | C+ | A | 30 min | $58,833 |
| Gilmanton Township | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Gilmanton Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Foley’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 Foley: questions
What is the median household income in Foley?
$58,833 (±$22,181) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Foley?
14.3%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Foley?
30 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Foley work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Cloud (23%, 16 mi), Sauk Rapids (4%, 13 mi), Princeton (3%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Foley walkable?
Foley is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.6 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Foley without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Foley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Foley
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.