Why look at Oswego?
- Mid-tier housing market. Median home is $421k.
- Stable market. Home values +3.8% year-over-year — neither overheated nor falling.
- Higher tax state. Top marginal income tax rate around 5.0% — factor into salary comparisons.
Where Oswego stands
At or near all-time high. averaging 8.0% annual growth over 5 years. population growing 2.9% 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 trajectory · last 5 years
Zillow ZORI · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 13.6 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Oswego on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 13.6 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →About Oswego (Wikipedia)
Oswego is a village in Kendall and Will counties, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 34,485. Oswego is the largest municipality in Kendall County. Part of the Chicago metropolitan area, it is an exurb of Chicago.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Kendall County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Kendall County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Neighborhoods of Oswego
6 tracked · ranked by median home valueRun the numbers for Oswego
Illinois context
Schools
Oswego is served by 14 public schools enrolling about 11,978 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 16.0:1 — about the same as 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 Oswego 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 Oswego
2 from local press- Find Oswegos Cheapest Gas During Record Memorial Day Travel WeekendLOCALPatch5d ago
- Bicyclist Struck While Crossing Route 31 In Oswego: PoliceLOCALPatch1d ago
- Oswego Lacrosse ScheduleMaxPreps1w ago
- Oswego police raise nearly $9,000 for Special Olympics IllinoisShaw Local1w ago
- Motorcyclist killed after colliding with trailer in Oswego, Illinois, identifiedMSN1w ago
- Oswego police identify man killed in motorcycle crashWSPYnews.com1w ago
Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Oswego-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 Oswego
Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Oswego’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.
Find more like Oswego →Cities similar to Oswego
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 Oswego, unemployment is very low at 2.6%, and local hiring momentum has been strong. The strongest local sectors are healthcare, tech and skilled trades & manufacturing.
Search current openings: