Photo: karol m · CC BY 2.0Foster Township has higher unemployment (5.3%) than 65% of U.S. towns
2% of workers work from home, where Pennsylvania as a whole has 16%. Jobs and income earn Foster Township C; getting around on foot earns it B. About one in ten stay in Foster Township for work; outside it, Bradford is the main destination (29%, 1 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Foster Township apart on work
A lot of Foster Township works one town over
44% of working residents work in a town that borders Foster Township: Bradford (29%) and Bradford Township (15%). Next door ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Foster Township
61% of Foster Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Foster Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Foster Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Foster Township workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Foster Township pay little
26% of the jobs based in Foster Township pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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 Foster Township earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Foster Township is better than 33% of U.S. towns, #843 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The poverty rate holds Foster Township’s grade up (9.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 26% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Foster Township could be anywhere from D to B+.
What work there is in Foster Township: 1,280 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Foster Township, 2013 → 2023: 1,207 → 1,280. 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 Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Foster Township, about 18 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Foster Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,902 commuters (the 2% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The daily commute in and out of Foster Township
On a workday 1,596 residents head out to work, 144 work right here, and 1,136 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Foster Township on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.74 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
The places Foster Township commutes to
Where Foster Township clocks in
29% of workers
15% of workers
5% 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 Township goes to work
About 22% 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.
Driving is how Foster Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Foster Township is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns, #542 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.6% across Pennsylvania, on an EPA index of 6.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,943 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.8% of Foster Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Foster Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,264 U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200, Foster Township comes 2,948th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,946 | Somerville TN | 3,622 | $44K | 25.0% | 1.9% | 16% | C |
| 2,947 | Fairmount Township IN | 3,978 | $66K | 21.7% | 3.3% | 7% | C |
| 2,948 | Foster Township PA | 3,868 | $70K | 9.8% | 5.3% | 8% | C |
| 2,949 | German Township PA | 4,483 | $62K | 7.6% | 6.0% | 6% | C |
| 2,950 | Lake Junaluska NC | 3,175 | $66K | 9.4% | 6.6% | 3% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Bordering towns draw 44% of Foster Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Foster Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foster Township | – | C | B | 18 min | $70,362 |
| Bradford | 29% | C− | A | 15 min | $56,161 |
| Bradford Township | 15% | B+ | B+ | 14 min | $90,243 |
| Keating Township | under 1% | C | D | 22 min | $74,297 |
| Otto Township | under 1% | D | D− | 31 min | $53,214 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bradford. Darker towns draw more of Foster Township’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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Foster Township?
$70,362 (±$8,930) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Foster Township?
9.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Foster Township?
18 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Foster Township work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bradford (29%, 1 mi), Bradford Township (15%, 5 mi), Olean (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Foster Township walkable?
Foster Township is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Foster Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Foster Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Foster Township
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.