What it's like to live in Roscoe
Roscoe is a small city in Illinois with home prices that remain within reach, household incomes running above the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Roscoe deals with county unemployment above the national average, cold, harsh winters, snowy winters, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.
The good
- Affordable home prices
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Low crime rates
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment in the county
- Cold, harsh winters
- Snowy winters — 38" per year
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Roscoe compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Roscoe
Based on Roscoe's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,874
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $57,480 a year
- 47% of Roscoe renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$45,560
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $22,780
- Homes cost 2.4× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of livingNear US average
$1,437/mo median rent
Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,437 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $227,800. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $227,800 · 47% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
5.4% county unemployment
Unemployment in Winnebago County is 5.4%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Winnebago County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 81% below US
64 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 482/100k · Roscoe Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
27 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 27.2 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 16% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are comfortable, with highs around 78°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 14°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforceNear US average
33% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 33% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
2 public schools inside the boundary
There are 2 public schools inside the boundary.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Pullman National Historical Park (88 miles away).
Bottom line
Roscoe's strongest points are home prices that remain within reach and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and cold, harsh winters. A year of median rent ($1,437/mo) equals 19% of the median household income here, about the same as the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit anyone prioritizing low crime and remote workers (16% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up, anyone who doesn't drive, and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
Other places near Roscoe
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