Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Belvidere's standout: it has 23 miles of trail. Overall it grades C−, 658th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. Its weakest subject is health: residents are less healthy than 80% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 6 places on the National Register. Belvidere’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile, above both the Illinois town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). On history, just 81 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. Belvidere's schools rank behind 78% of the state's.
Where Belvidere beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,003 in 1850, 25,339 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 4 maps from 1918 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Belvidere is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Belvidere, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Belvidere.
Belvidere trades workers with Rockford and other neighbors, is one of Illinois’s best towns for the outdoors and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings.
Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #19 of 768 in Illinois.
The biggest place to walk is Spencer Conservation Unit, 243 acres with 1.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. LIB Conservation Area | 3.3 mi | 179 |
| 2. Prairie Fields Park | 2.7 mi | 91 |
| 3. Distillery Road Conservation Unit | 2.4 mi | 207 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
16% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Belvidere, above both Illinois’ towns (7.9%) and U.S. towns (8.1%). 25% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Belvidere. Belvidere beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16.
| Belvidere | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Belvidere | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 15.9% | 9.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.2% | 10.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 22.5% | 15.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 192 to 155 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Belvidere’s property crime rate is 4.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Belvidere | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.4 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Belvidere has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 13° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Belvidere has about as many jobs (9,437) as working residents, but only 1,683 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 13,171 in 2013 to 9,437.
Most working residents leave Belvidere for work: only 17% work in town. 15% of Belvidere residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Belvidere has lost 3,734 jobs, to 9,437 in 2023.
| Belvidere | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.7% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Belvidere home is worth about $262,000, up 6.5% in a year, 11% below the Illinois typical home. The median rent in Belvidere is $991 a month.
| Belvidere | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $991 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Belvidere.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Belvidere. Close and well known come first.
19 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
11 mi Stadium & arenaBMO Center
40 mi TheatreAlpine Valley Music Theatre
9 mi GardenAnderson Japanese Gardens
24 mi TheatreEgyptian Theatre, DeKalb
34 mi Theme parkSanta's Village Amusement & Water ParkIllinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · BMO Center: SimLibrarian, CC0 · Alpine Valley Music Theatre: chad davis, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Anderson Japanese Gardens: M. Readey, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Egyptian Theatre, DeKalb: Andy McMurray, CC BY 2.5 · Santa's Village Amusement & Water Park: Martin Lewison from The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Belvidere
About 5 of every 100 Belvidere residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
18.6% of the town is conserved land, across 16 parks and preserves.
6 places in Belvidere on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Belvidere.
City in Illinois, US
Belvidere () is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is settled on the Kishwaukee River in far northern Illinois. The population was 25,339 at the 2020 census. Belvidere is part of the Rockford metropolitan area. Known as the "City of Murals", Belvidere is home to several public art installations throughout the North and South State Street historic districts, which are on the National Register of Historic Places. These historic districts are home to the Boone County Museum of History, the Funderburg House Museum, several restaurants and bars, and antique and boutique stores. Popular festivities like Heritage Days are held yearly.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Belvidere.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belvidere | #658 | C− | C+ | B+ | C− | C− |
| Cherry Valley | #741 | D | C | D | D | B+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Belvidere grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #658 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health, B+ for safety and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 3.9 years of the area's median household income ($68,033 across the Rockford, IL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
16 notable people were born here, including Jeanne Gang and Charles Eugene Fuller.
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