Photo: Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 4.0Foster has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The two grades for Foster are A for jobs and income and D for walkability. There are 473 jobs in Foster, and 2,279 of its residents work somewhere. Household incomes here are higher than in 85% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Foster apart on work
Foster is a place people come home to
There are 473 jobs based in Foster, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Foster has about 2,800 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Foster workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 26 across Rhode Island. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Foster
68% of Foster residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 47% of the jobs based in Foster pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. 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.
The four measures behind Foster’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Foster is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #7 of 38 in Rhode Island. Household income is its strongest input ($113,646, U.S. $80,734); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Foster could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Foster by day and by night
On a workday 2,119 residents head out to work, 160 work right here, and 313 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Foster on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
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’s commute takes about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Foster workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,065 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Rhode Island: 83% 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.
The kinds of work in Foster
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Foster, 2013 → 2023: 370 → 473. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
15% of working residents work in Providence
Where Foster clocks in
15% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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 many miles Foster commutes
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 gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Foster is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns, #38 of 38 in Rhode Island. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Rhode Island.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,509 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). 1.6% of Foster households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Foster’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,938 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200, Foster comes 344th 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 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 342 | North Yarmouth ME | 4,424 | $129K | 4.8% | 1.9% | 7% | A |
| 343 | Saugatuck Township MI | 3,688 | $94K | 2.5% | 1.4% | 5% | A |
| 344 | Foster RI | 4,628 | $114K | 4.7% | 2.1% | 7% | A |
| 345 | Neenah WI | 3,673 | $117K | 5.2% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| 346 | Pittsboro IN | 4,443 | $126K | 0.4% | 4.1% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 679 | Jamestown RI | 5,480 | $141K | 3.5% | 4.9% | 16% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 746 | Little Compton RI | 3,535 | $135K | 2.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
Foster and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Scituate (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of Foster’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: questions
What is the median household income in Foster?
$113,646 (±$18,117) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Foster?
4.7%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Foster?
33 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Foster work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Providence (15%, 16 mi), Warwick (8%, 17 mi), Cranston (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Foster walkable?
Foster is more walkable than 9% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Foster without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Foster, from the people who make the trip.
More of Foster
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.