Minooka, Oswego Ranked Among Top 10 Towns for Young Families

Bigger isn’t necessarily better, especially if you’re looking to raise a family, according to NerdWallet.

The consumer finance site took a look at Illinois towns with populations over 10,000, ranking the best places to raise a young family, and found that smaller towns dominated the rankings.

Two area towns, Minooka and Oswego, made the site’s list of top 10 Best Cities for Young Families in Illinois.

According to NerdWallet, the following factors were considered in coming up with the rankings:

• Home affordability. We looked at median home value and selected monthly homeowner costs to prioritize affordable communities.
• Prosperity and growth. Looking at current and past family incomes, we calculated the income of residents, as well as the projected long-term growth of each city.
• Quality of education. We looked at ratings at GreatSchools.org to find the best schools.
• Family friendliness. This year, we added a new component to our methodology — the percentage of families with school-age children and the poverty rate for young children. This measure helps determine if an area is not only affordable for families, but if it is also a healthy one for children.

According to the site, towns with fewer than 25,000 residents tended to rank higher than more populated towns.

The Village of Minooka was No. 4 on the list, with a population of 10,931, according to NerdWallet.

Minooka “is the smallest city in the top 10, but its size and array of activities for everyone in the family make it an appealing place for young couples that want to connect and engage in their community,” the site said in its assessment. “The city has our list’s second-highest percentage, behind Western Springs, of families with children under 18. This historic railroad town about 50 miles southwest of Chicago offers an ideal combination of affordability — it has the third-lowest median home value in our top 10 — and education, with schools that were rated 8 out of 10 at GreatSchools.”

The Village of Oswego came in at No. 6. Despite continued growth — since 1990, its population has gone from 3,875 to the current 31,036 — “the city maintains a sense of community with events such as Wine on the Fox, PrairieFest weekend celebration and Brew at the Bridge craft beer festival,” NerdWallet said.

Other towns in the top 10 include Lake Zurich (No. 1), Western Springs (No. 9) and New Lenox (No. 10.

Click here to view the full list and details on the study.