Why look at Oak Forest?
- Moderately priced housing. Median home is $293k.
- Stable market. Home values +4.4% year-over-year — neither overheated nor falling.
- Higher tax state. Top marginal income tax rate around 5.0% — factor into salary comparisons.
Where Oak Forest stands
At or near all-time high. home values up 4.4% in the last year. population shrinking 0.6% per year.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent vs buy
At a 13.9 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Oak Forest on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 13.9 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →About Oak Forest (Wikipedia)
Oak Forest is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The city is out 24 miles (39 km) south-southwest of downtown Chicago in Bremen Township. Per the 2020 census, the population was 27,478.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Cook County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Cook County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Run the numbers for Oak Forest
Illinois context
Schools
Oak Forest is served by 17 public schools enrolling about 4,497 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 12.7:1 — smaller classes than the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.
Ratings, districts & boundaries:
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Oak Forest listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local news & community
Latest news in Oak Forest
5 from local press- Heavy police presence reported in Oak Forest on Chaucer DriveLOCALABC7 Chicago1d ago
- FBI Mum On Court-Authorized Law Enforcement Activity At Oak Forest HomeLOCALPatch1d ago
- Woman in critical condition after bike crash at Ridgeland and 159th StreetLOCALChicago Tribune1w ago
- Oak Forest vs Providence Catholic Softball – May 26, 2026LOCALSports Illustrated5d ago
- Tinley Park Bicyclist Dies Day After Being Struck By Car, Crash Remains Under Investigation: Oak Forest PDLOCALPatch6d ago
- Oak Forest warns of hours-long ‘planned police operation'; residents told to avoid areaNBC 5 Chicago1d ago
Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Oak Forest-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
Find more cities like Oak Forest
Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Oak Forest’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.
Find more like Oak Forest →Cities similar to Oak Forest
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.
Cost-of-ownership at the median
Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.
Schools & crime context
School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.
Illinois: 396 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.
Compare to where you live now
Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.
Jobs & hiring
In Oak Forest, unemployment sits around 5.4%, and hiring momentum has been steady. The strongest local sectors are skilled trades & manufacturing, healthcare and tech.
Search current openings: