Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Dwight gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $211K, 2.9 years of the Pontiac area’s $74K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 557th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its public schools trail 79% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns. 22% of working residents work locally in Dwight, above both Illinois’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include John R. Oughton House and Dwight Chicago and Alton Railroad Depot.
Where Dwight beats most towns.
Census counts: 295 in 1860, 4,032 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1948 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Dwight is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dwight, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Dwight.
Dwight trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has added a third more jobs in ten years.
Homes are within reach (about $211K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 26 miles. Home values rose 48% in five years, to about $211K, against 30% across Illinois.
The typical home value in Dwight is about $211,000, up 11.6% in a year, 29% below the Illinois typical home. Homes sold in Dwight spent a median 34 days on the market. Bidding over the asking price: half of homes sold here.
| Dwight | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 69% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $997 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expect July afternoons of 84° and January nights of 16°, with about 23 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 1,278 in 2013 to 1,895.
The top destinations are Morris (6%), Pontiac (5%) and Chicago (4%). In Dwight, about one in five working residents works in town. This Illinois town had 1,895 jobs in 2023, up 617 from 2013. The average commute for Dwight comes to 29 minutes.
| Dwight | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
15% of Dwight adults report frequent physical distress. In Dwight, 16% of adults smoke cigarettes, and 38% have high blood pressure.
| Dwight | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Dwight | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 9% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 15.9% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2024. Dwight’s violent offense rate stands at 0.5 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Dwight | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 6.9 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
The biggest park or preserve is Renfrew Park, at 23 acres. 0.7 miles of trail wind through 2 parks and preserves. In Dwight, the density of trails is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Dwight | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Renfrew Park | 0.1 mi | 23 |
| 2. Florence W. Garrett Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected losses in Dwight break down as 53% from inland flooding and 26% from cold waves. FEMA expects more storm and flood damage in the town than in 51% of U.S. communities. Also worth knowing: 14 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Dwight; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Dwight residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
4 places in Dwight on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Dwight.
Village in Illinois, United States
Dwight is a village located mainly in Livingston County, Illinois, with a small portion in Grundy County. The population was 4,032 at the 2020 census. Dwight contains an original stretch of U.S. Route 66, and from 1892 until 2016 continuously used a railroad station designed in 1891 by Henry Ives Cobb. Interstate 55 bypasses the village to the north and west.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Dwight grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #557 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ for health and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
6 notable people were born here, including Franklin Sumner Earle and Frank Leslie Smith.
