Photo: Jauerback · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Oswego top those of 90% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Oswego are A+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Below the poverty line: 2.6% of residents (Illinois 11.8%). Only 8% work in Oswego itself; outside it, Chicago draws the most (15%, 35 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Oswego
Oswego’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Oswego is Chicago, 35 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (2,921) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Oswego
65% of Oswego residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 41% of the jobs based in Oswego pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% 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.
Why Oswego gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oswego is better than 97% of U.S. towns, #32 of 768 in Illinois. The poverty rate is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Oswego could be anywhere from A to A+.
Miles to work from Oswego
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.
What work there is in Oswego: 10,974 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oswego, 2013 → 2023: 8,781 → 10,974. 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 Oswego’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Oswego on a workday
On a workday 18,567 residents head out to work, 1,564 work right here, and 9,410 people come in from elsewhere.
About 31,000 people are in Oswego on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.55 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 Oswego’s working residents head each day
Where Oswego clocks in
15% of workers
9% 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.
The trip to work from Oswego: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oswego workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,598 commuters (the 17% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Most trips from Oswego start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oswego is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns, #491 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 18,903 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.8% of Oswego households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Oswego’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Oswego is 31st among 1,086 U.S. towns of 28,000 to 54,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | West Deerfield Township IL | 32,111 | $205K | 2.7% | 2.7% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | New Lenox IL | 28,893 | $141K | 1.5% | 2.9% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Bartlett IL | 40,855 | $133K | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Pasadena MD | 34,309 | $130K | 5.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 30 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| 31 | Oswego IL | 39,948 | $124K | 2.6% | 2.6% | 8% | A+ |
| 32 | Andover MN | 33,874 | $138K | 3.3% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| 33 | Highland Park IL | 30,767 | $168K | 4.2% | 3.2% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,086 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Oswego, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
13% of Oswego works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Aurora (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oswego workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oswego | – | A+ | B | 32 min | $123,792 |
| Boulder Hill | under 2% | B− | C− | 27 min | $80,377 |
| Montgomery | 2% | A− | C+ | 33 min | $103,734 |
| Aurora | 9% | B+ | A | 27 min | $93,633 |
| Yorkville | 2% | A | B | 34 min | $108,513 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oswego’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 Oswego: questions
What is the median household income in Oswego?
$123,792 (±$6,474) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oswego?
2.6%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oswego?
32 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oswego work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chicago (15%, 35 mi), Aurora (9%, 6 mi), Naperville (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Oswego walkable?
Oswego is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oswego without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oswego, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oswego
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.