Village · Kane County, Illinois

Big Rock, Illinois

Big Rock is a village in Kane County, Illinois, part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area. It has 1,548 residents. Big Rock, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 75 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,852 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #119 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on median household income (high), uninsured residents (under 65) (low) and injury deaths (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), reading scores (low) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high).

75High

Quality-of-life score: #3,852 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #119 of 697 in IL
Population: 1,548 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 358.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 1705976

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety86#2,109/15,637
Economy87#1,979/15,631
Housing80#3,043/14,977
Health90#1,623/15,609
Healthcare76#3,768/15,650
Environment18#12,697/15,453
Education22#12,140/15,649
Infrastructure77#3,647/15,650
Community66#5,375/15,651
Leisure & amenities38#9,746/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Big Rock, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Kane County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Median household income · high$162,854
95/100Illinois $83,327United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low1.5%
94/100Illinois 8.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Injury deaths · low54 /100k
93/100Illinois 80 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKane County value
Rent as share of income · low13.2%
93/100Illinois 29.1%United States 30.6%2018-2022U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Drug overdose deaths · low7.6 /100k
91/100Illinois 14.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataKane County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.1×
90/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.16%
5/100Illinois 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Reading scores · low2.72
11/100Illinois 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteKane County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.0 µg/m³
13/100Illinois 8.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKane County value
Days with unhealthy air · high2.5%
16/100Illinois 4.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKane County value
Job growth · low-1.5%
19/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataKane County value
High ozone days · high3 days
21/100Illinois 5 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKane County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,236 (2015-2019) → 1,548 (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.2% (2015-2019) → 97.4% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$96,369 (2015-2019) → $162,854 (2020-2024)
+69%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
10.9% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Income inequality (Gini index)Improving
0.397 (2015-2019) → 0.243 (2020-2024)
−39%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 6.8% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Big Rock, Illinois improved on 1 of 7 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+69%$96,369 → $162,854

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 7 measures

Change of every measure of Big Rock, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.6 min2015-2019	18.4 min2020-2024	−9.2 min	Within the margin of error	98%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.2%2015-2019	20.6%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Broadband subscriptions	83.2%2015-2019	97.4%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	77%
High school diploma or higher	95.6%2015-2019	97.4%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	−0.4×	Within the margin of error	91%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3972015-2019	0.2432020-2024	−0.155	Within the margin of error	99%
Median household income	$96,3692015-2019	$162,8542020-2024	+69%	Improved	94%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Big Rock, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Big Rock, Illinois in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Big Rock, Illinois itself moved +19.6 points in standing on average over the same 7 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,548 residents (±601)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

620 households (±319)

Big Rock, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k3.4%†21
$25k–50k5.0%†31
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

620 households (±319)

Big Rock, Illinois
Illinois share

Own99%†613
Rent1.1%†7

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+11.2 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

942 workers (±619)

Big Rock, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone61%†577
Carpool1.8%†17
Public transit

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Kane County, the county holding most of Big Rock's residents.

Kane County has 13,537 employer establishments, 261 for every 10,000 residents (1.05× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Illinois's), with 194,921 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,541. The Census Bureau also counts 44,748 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 13,537; 44,748 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 261; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 194,921
Average annual pay: $58,541; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Kane County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	1,129	21.8	1.41×More than typical	9,766	$88,745	2,909
Ambulatory health care services	1,000	19.3	0.93×About typical	11,072	$64,697	1,524
Restaurants and other eating places	886	17.1	0.93×About typical	16,361	$22,415	220
Services to buildings and dwellings	646	12.5	1.85×More than typical	3,178	$55,751	2,358
Truck transportation	643	12.4	2.45×More than typical	2,127	$65,347	2,147
Construction of buildings	458	8.8	1.17×About typical	1,784	$80,946	1,306
Lessors of real estate	451	8.7	0.71×Fewer than typical	2,082	$57,479	3,927
Landscaping services	442	8.5	2.43×More than typical	1,551	$70,230	794
Full-service restaurants	402	7.8	1.01×About typical	7,772	$25,466	96
Building equipment contractors	394	7.6	1.26×More than typical	4,423	$89,377	495
Limited-service restaurants	363	7	0.87×About typical	6,948	$19,615	85
Offices of other health practitioners	348	6.7	1.11×About typical	1,646	$44,254	807

Rank places for an industry Open Kane County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 518,295 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $219 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Big Rock, Illinois: $0.14 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $219; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.14; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Defense Logistics Agency$537100%

Top recipients

HY-TEK MANUFACTURING CO., INC.$537100%
X-CLEAN CORP-$3180.0%

Spending by fiscal year

223.3KFY2017
235.6KFY2018
26.3KFY2019
194.4KFY2020
82.1KFY2021
288.5KFY2022
243.3KFY2023
174.1K

Top industries (NAICS)

Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$537100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Big Rock, Illinois, so they do not add up across cities.

Big Rock, Illinois's figures are part of those of Kane County, IL ($795.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Big Rock is mostly in Kane County.

See federal money in Kane County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Big Rock, Illinois is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Richard J. Durbin

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Kane County70100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN66

Other cities and towns in Kane County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1705976

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends