Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 8,521, settled in 1868.
Rock Falls gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $122K, 1.8 years of the Sterling area’s $68K median household income. It grades C− overall, ranked 659th of 767 in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. It reports more crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns, including 38 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, and the median household income is $50K, and 26% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 82% of U.S. towns. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Rock Falls, above both the Illinois town median (8.4%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 119 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score lower on health. Col. Edward N. Kirk House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Rock Falls beats most towns.
Where Rock Falls’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Rock Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 471 in 1870, 8,789 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2021 and 2 maps from 1946 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rock Falls, 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 Rock Falls.
Rock Falls is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate.
At 1.8 years of the Sterling area’s $68K median household income, the typical home (about $122K) costs less against local pay than in 85% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $2,112, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Rock Falls is $754 a month. The typical Rock Falls home is worth about $122,000, about the same as a year ago, 59% below the Illinois typical home. 67% of households own their home in Rock Falls.
| Rock Falls | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $754 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Rock Falls’ property crime rate is 25.1 per 1,000 residents. Rock Falls reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 89% report less. Rock Falls’ violent crime rate is 4.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Rock Falls | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25.1 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1.8 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Centennial Park, at 53 acres.
| Rock Falls | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.1% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hennepin Canal Feeder Parkway State Park | 0.6 mi | 44 |
| 2. Run Bike and Walk Park | 0.4 mi | 4 |
| 3. Centennial Park | 0.3 mi | 53 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 5,646 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rock Falls’s, it is healthier than 51%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Rock Falls beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 14% of Rock Falls adults have diabetes.
| Rock Falls | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Rock Falls | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.7% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.8% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 17.2% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 3,625 working residents takes 15.7 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Rock Falls for work: only 10% work in town. Since 2013, Rock Falls has lost 111 jobs, to 1,947 in 2023. The top destinations are Sterling (24%), Sterling Township (9%) and Dixon (7%).
| Rock Falls | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.8% | 11% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Rock Falls.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Rock Falls has cold winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 14° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2 within 15 miles of the center of Rock Falls
About 4 of every 100 Rock Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
7 notable people were born in Rock Falls.
City in Whiteside County, Illinois, US
Rock Falls is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The recorded population was 8,606 at the 2020 census, down 7.12% from 9,266 in 2010. The city is located on the Rock River, directly opposite its twin city of Sterling.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Rock Falls.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Falls | #659 | C− | A− | D | B− | C− |
| Coloma Township | #545 | C+ | A− | — | B− | C |
| Sterling · Sterling Township | #514 | C+ | B+ | C+ | B− | C+ |
Coloma Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Sterling Township and Sterling are one community, graded once. Compare Rock Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rock Falls grades C− overall, better than 19% of U.S. towns and #659 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health, D for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
7 notable people were born here, including Louie Bellson and Zelma O'Neal.
