Living in Oswego, Kansas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 14.1% below the U.S. average in the parts of Kansas outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 9.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byLabette Health in Parsons, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityTulsa is about 84 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Oswego meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $82,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 16%Labette County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $819 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $53,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,491 a yearKansas: $2,798
Homes built before 1940: 26%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 85.9U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Kansas outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Kansas outside metro areas, not Oswego alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,6212020: 1,654
Median age: 36.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 10%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (32%); manufacturing (16%); retail (14%)
Average commute: 21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 23%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Labette Health, Parsons, KS, about 14 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Oswego, run by Oswego.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Kansas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 60%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 85%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 23°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 46 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 95 a year
Rain and melted snow: 46.1 inches a year
Snow: 4 inches a year
Elevation: 908 feet

Weather stations: Columbus (15 miles away) and Oswego 1 N (1 mile away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Labette HealthEmergency room14

Joplin, MOCity of 54,00034

Tulsa, OKMetro of 1.1 million84

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Labette Health, Joplin, Tulsa.

Labette County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Riverside Park.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

George Washington Carver National Monument43 miles
Fort Scott National Historic Site52 miles
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield55 miles

Read about Oswego's history on Wikipedia.

Know Oswego?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Altamont, KS1,100 people, 10 miles
Parsons, KS9,300 people, 14 miles
Columbus, KS2,900 people, 15 miles
Commerce, OK2,300 people, 21 miles
Baxter Springs, KS3,800 people, 23 miles
Miami, OK12,900 people, 23 miles

Smaller places

Chetopa, KS907 people, 9 miles
West Mineral, KS149 people, 13 miles
McCune, KS378 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.