Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

Safety32#626/924
Economy32#632/925
Housing34#610/925
Health42#540/925
Healthcare72#261/923
Environment31#637/917
Education43#525/925
Infrastructure46#502/925
Community38#573/925
Leisure & amenities73#251/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Rockford, IL metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Access to exercise opportunities · high88.1%
87/100Illinois 90.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Distance to an emergency room · low4.3 mi
87/100Illinois 4.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAggregated from counties
Home price to income ratio · low2.5×
85/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Dentists · high80 /100k
82/100Illinois 86 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Suicide rate · low15.1 /100k
73/100Illinois 11.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
Flu vaccinations · high46.5%
71/100Illinois 48.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties

Weaknesses

Effective property tax rate · high2.22%
0/100Illinois 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Violent crime rate · high490 /100k
12/100Illinois 251 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationAggregated from counties
Unemployment rate · high5.4%
12/100Illinois 4.6%United States 4.3%2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPartial year
Job growth · low-2.2%
13/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional data
Adult obesity · high41.4%
15/100Illinois 39.0%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Days with unhealthy air · high1.7%
19/100Illinois 4.2%2025U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Trends

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

Drought exposureImproving
65% (2021) → 26% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
−39 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
19.0% (Dec 2021) → 31.9% (Aug 2026)
+13 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
Drug overdose deathsImproving
44.2 /100k (2021) → 18.4 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−58%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
Homicide rateImproving
9.0 /100k (2021) → 3.9 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−57%5 yearsUS 7.8 /100k → 4.8 /100k
New homes permittedImproving
0.8 /1k (2021) → 1.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+43%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Property crime rateImproving
2,248 /100k (2019) → 1,522 /100k (2025)
−32%6 yearsUS 2,082 /100k → 1,535 /100k

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, Rockford, IL metro area improved on 15 of 30 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 7 moved within the margin of error and 3 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among metro and micro areas: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2015-2019 with 2020-2024); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved15

Property tax−0.5 points2.67% → 2.22%
Unemployment−5.6 points11.0% → 5.4%
Homicides−69%12.4 /100k → 3.9 /100k
Overdose deaths−59%45.5 /100k → 18.4 /100k
Arts & recreation+24%3.6 /10k → 4.5 /10k

Declined5

Suicides+27%11.9 /100k → 15.1 /100k
Grocery stores−13%2.0 /10k → 1.8 /10k
Transit use−0.5 points1.0% → 0.5%
Traffic deaths+16%10.2 /100k → 11.9 /100k
Price / income+0.3×2.2× → 2.5×

All 30 measures

Change of every measure of Rockford, IL metro area between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	3.6 /10k2020	4.5 /10k2025	+24%	Improved	80%
Average commute time	23.6 min2015-2019	23.6 min2020-2024	+0.0 min	Within the margin of error	64%
Average weekly wage	$9722020	$1,1722025	+21%	Improved	26%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.0%2015-2019	25.0%2020-2024	+2 points	Improved	31%
Broadband subscriptions	83.1%2015-2019	89.1%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Improved	16%
Child poverty rate	23.0%2015-2019	21.2%2020-2024	−1.8 points	Improved	43%
Distance to an airport	57 mi2020	57 mi2025	−0 mi	Little change	82%
Drug overdose deaths	45.5 /100k2020	18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	−59%	Improved	90%
Effective property tax rate	2.67%2015-2019	2.22%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	98%
Firearm deaths	14.6 /100k2020	12.6 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−14%	Improved	74%
Grocery stores	2.0 /10k2020	1.8 /10k2025	−13%	Declined	20%
Gyms and fitness centers	0.8 /10k2020	1.0 /10k2025	+25%	Improved	76%
High school diploma or higher	87.4%2015-2019	88.4%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.3×	Declined	70%
Homicide rate	12.4 /100k2020	3.9 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−69%	Improved	89%
Income adjusted for local prices	$47,2942019	$60,6622024	+28%	Improved	23%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4502015-2019	0.4472020-2024	−0.003	Within the margin of error	63%
Median household income	$56,0272015-2019	$68,0332020-2024	+21%	Improved	20%
New business applications	8.7 /1k2020	11.4 /1k2025	+31%	Improved	28%
Pharmacies	1.9 /10k2020	1.8 /10k2025	−2.8%	Little change	62%
Poverty rate	14.7%2015-2019	14.7%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Public libraries	0.4 /10k2019	0.4 /10k2024	−0.2%	Little change	62%
Public transit commuters	1.0%2015-2019	0.5%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Declined	34%
Rent as share of income	28.7%2015-2019	29.7%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Rent-burdened households	46.9%2015-2019	49.5%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Restaurants and bars	9.2 /10k2020	9.8 /10k2025	+6.5%	Improved	70%
Suicide rate	11.9 /100k2020	15.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+27%	Declined	18%
Traffic deaths	10.2 /100k2015-2019	11.9 /100k2020-2024	+16%	Declined	33%
Unemployment rate	11.0%2020	5.4%2025	−5.6 points	Improved	96%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.9%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 786 metro and micro areas that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Public Libraries Survey; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. 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 925 metro and micro areas 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.

Metro and micro areas like Rockford, IL metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Rockford, IL metro area 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, Rockford, IL metro area itself moved +0.2 points in standing on average over the same 28 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

336,522 residents

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

135,474 households (±823)

Rockford, IL metro area
United States share

Under $25k17%22,912
$25k–50k20%27,087
$50k–75k18%23,915

Homes

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

Owners and renters

135,474 households (±823)

Rockford, IL metro area
United States share

Own68%92,323
Rent32%43,151

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

151,009 workers (±1,842)

Rockford, IL metro area
United States share

Drive alone77%116,460
Carpool10%15,295
Public transit0.5%695

Jobs and pay

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

The 10 largest occupations in Rockford, IL employ 34,550 people. 3 pay a median above the US median and 7 below it.

Above the US median
Below the US median

The largest occupations in Rockford, IL by employment, with median annual pay and how it compares with the United States
Occupation	Jobs	Median pay	vs USCompared with the US	Concentration
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand5,940 jobs	5,940	$44,200US $40,240	+10%	2.27×
Registered Nurses4,620 jobs	4,620	$80,930US $97,550	−17%	1.54×
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,630 jobs	3,630	$31,640US $31,200	+1%	1.07×
Cashiers3,620 jobs	3,620	$31,680US $32,880	−4%	1.32×
General and Operations Managers3,340 jobs	3,340	$98,390US $105,770	−7%	1.08×
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators3,130 jobs	3,130	$45,670US $44,650	+2%	2.52×
Stockers and Order Fillers3,110 jobs	3,110	$36,020US $37,330	−4%	1.24×
Retail Salespersons2,970 jobs	2,970	$33,540US $35,410	−5%	0.86×
Nursing Assistants2,120 jobs	2,120	$40,140US $42,260	−5%	1.65×
Customer Service Representatives2,070 jobs	2,070	$43,260US $44,770	−3%	0.9×

Look up any occupation

Search more than 800 occupations and see what they pay in Rockford, IL.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025-05 (all industries and ownerships) bls.gov/oes

Reference period: 2025-05. BLS publishes metro areas, states and the nation (not counties or cities), so a county or city page shows its metro area.
Pay is not adjusted for the cost of living, so a higher median does not mean more purchasing power.
BLS caps the highest wages it publishes: where a figure is shown as “or more”, the real value is at least that much.
Some occupations (teachers, performers) are published by the hour or school year and shown here as an annual figure.

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.

Rockford, IL has 7,176 employer establishments, 214 for every 10,000 residents (0.86× the US rate of 248), with 132,564 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,631. The Census Bureau also counts 23,596 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 7,176; 23,596 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 214; US 248
Paid employees: 132,564
Average annual pay: $56,631; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	566	16.9	0.92×About typical	10,851	$20,155	132
Ambulatory health care services	521	15.5	0.75×Fewer than typical	7,119	$81,090	927
Specialty trade contractors	470	14	0.91×About typical	3,513	$82,206	1,389
Limited-service restaurants	278	8.3	1.03×About typical	5,962	$18,496	69
Truck transportation	264	7.9	1.56×More than typical	1,816	$59,581	741
Full-service restaurants	239	7.1	0.93×About typical	4,328	$22,454	36
Lessors of real estate	238	7.1	0.58×Fewer than typical	802	$49,773	1,723
Fabricated metal product manufacturing	234	7	4.37×More than typical	7,725	$58,189	61
Services to buildings and dwellings	234	7	1.04×About typical	1,332	$42,902	1,530
Automotive repair and maintenance	208	6.2	1.23×About typical	1,120	$45,704	305
Religious organizations	167	5	0.90×About typical	3,251	$26,507	—
Construction of buildings	165	4.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	767	$82,837	649

Rank places for an industry

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 335,084 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.
A metro area's figures are the exact sums of its counties.
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 contract spending

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $642.3M on contracts performed in Rockford, IL metro area: $1,905 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $642.3M; −30% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1,905; US $1,994
Sole-source: 20%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.3%; 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

Top recipients

SUPPLYCORE LLC$522.3M81%
HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION$56.8M8.8%
EVAC NORTH AMERICA INC$25.4M4.0%
WOODWARD, INC.$20.6M3.2%
GE AVIATION SYSTEMS LLC$4.4M0.7%

Spending by fiscal year

428.6MFY2017
610.7MFY2018
435.2MFY2019
313.3MFY2020
341.4MFY2021
443.7MFY2022
639.6MFY2023
770.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$178.7M28%
Machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers · 4238$135.3M21%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344$130.5M20%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$83.6M13%
Household appliances and electrical and electronic goods merchant wholesalers · 4236$45.1M7.0%
Other general purpose machinery manufacturing · 3339

Part of this section could not be loaded in time.

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.

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $2.1B in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Rockford, IL metro area: $6,152 per resident (US $12,955).

Assistance · FY2026: $2.1B; −14% vs FY2025
Per resident: $6,152; US $12,955
Loan face value: $57.9M; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 0.8%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$1.4B66%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$191.3M9.2%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$123.3M5.9%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$115.2M5.6%
20.279 · National Highway Performance Program (NHPP)$92.2M4.4%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$66.6M3.2%
14.195 · Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA)$12.4M0.6%
84.063 · Federal Pell Grant Program$10.5M0.5%

Top recipients (organizations)

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION$105.5M5.1%
SPRINGFIELD, IL
CITY OF ROCKFORD HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT$9.2M0.4%
ROCKFORD, IL
ROCK VALLEY COLLEGE$7.4M0.4%
ROCKFORD, IL
CRUSADERS CENTRAL CLINIC ASSOCIATION$7M0.3%
ROCKFORD, IL
CITY OF ROCKFORD$3.9M

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$1.8B84%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$133.1M6.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs
Federal Highway Administration$105.5M5.1%
Department of Transportation
Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner$14.4M0.7%
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Farm Service Agency

Assistance by fiscal year

1.9BFY2021
1.7BFY2022
1.9BFY2023
1.9BFY2024
2.4BFY2025
2.1BFY2026

County aggregates

91%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Counties in Rockford, IL

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

RockfordPrincipal city147,521

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

Other metro and micro areas in Illinois

Areas based in Illinois, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
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
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08

JSON · /api/v1/places/M40420

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved15

Declined5

Metro and micro areas like Rockford, IL metro area five years ago that improved

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Jobs and pay

Look up any occupation

Local businesses

Federal contract spending

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

Federal grants & assistance

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

Counties in Rockford, IL

Principal cities

Largest cities and towns

Other metro and micro areas in Illinois

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Similar metro and micro areas

Data and sources

Improved15

Declined5

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Look up any occupation

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

By type

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

What was bought