Foster has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Hardly any stay in Foster for work; outside it, Neillsville is the main destination (13%, 16 miles). Foster has 15 jobs, against 48 working residents. Commuters spend 25 minutes getting to work on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Foster quiets down on a workday
On a workday 48 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 15 people come in from elsewhere.
About 88 people are in Foster on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
Where the trip to work from Foster ends
Where Foster clocks in
Lines 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Foster
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Foster, 2013 → 2023: 11 → 15. 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.
About 25 minutes each way, longer than most of Wisconsin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Foster workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 55 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Miles to work from Foster
About 29% 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.
The towns around Foster
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Foster workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foster | – | — | — | 25 min | $61,771 |
| Fairchild | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Hendren | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Bridge Creek | under 3% | B− | B | 28 min | $83,413 |
| Butler | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Mentor | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Seif | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Fairchild, Hendren, Mentor and Seif: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Butler: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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?
$61,771 (±$11,680) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Foster?
5.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Foster?
25 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Foster work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Neillsville (13%, 16 mi), Black River Falls (8%, 27 mi), Eaton (6%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Foster without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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.