Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Rock Island earns a D, 719th of 767 graded towns in Illinois, mostly because of safety and schools. It reports more crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns, including 220 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its public schools trail 88% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. In its favor, it has 14 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 19 places on the National Register. Rock Island’s level of violent crime is 6.1 per 1,000 residents, against 1 in Illinois’ towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Denkmann-Hauberg House and Weyerhaeuser House. Rock Island is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns.
Where Rock Island beats most towns.
Its 19 National Register listings are more than in 96% of Illinois towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,711 in 1850, a peak of 51,863 in 1960, 37,108 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1844 and 4 maps from 1949 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Rock Island is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rock Island. Close and well known come first.
4 mi Ancient siteRock Island Arsenal
in town MuseumBlack Hawk State Historic Site
4 mi MuseumFigge Art Museum77K visitors a year
4 mi MuseumPutnam Museum8 mi Zoo & aquariumNiabi Zoo
5 mi GardenVander Veer Botanical ParkRock Island Arsenal: Robert A, Ryan, J. Ceronia, and Bruce A. Harms, Photographers, Public domain · Black Hawk State Historic Site: Bill Whittaker (talk). Original uploader was Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Figge Art Museum: Ctjf83, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Putnam Museum: Ctjf83 of English Wikipedia (log), Public domain · Vander Veer Botanical Park: David Wilson, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rock Island, 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 Island.
Rock Island sends many workers across the state line to Davenport and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Illinois rate.
Across 28 parks and preserves: 15 miles of trail. Rock Island’s trail network density is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Sunset Park, at 271 acres.
| Rock Island | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.7% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Black Hawk Forest Nature Preserve | 4.7 mi | 178 |
| 2. Longview Park | 1.4 mi | 34 |
| 3. Lincoln Park | 0.8 mi | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 1.7 years of the Davenport metro’s $73K median household income, the typical home (about $125K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. At about $125K, home values are up 11% in five years, against a rise of 30% across Illinois.
Homes sold in Rock Island spent a median 13 days on the market. For Rock Island, the median rent is $842 a month. 65% of Rock Island households are owner-occupiers.
| Rock Island | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 65% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $842 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Violent crime runs at 6.1 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Illinois rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on that grade.
For Rock Island, the property offense rate is 24.4 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 8,680 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rock Island’s, it is less healthy than 58%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Rock Island, 19% report frequent mental distress. In Rock Island, just over a fifth of adults worry about having enough food.
| Rock Island | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Rock Island | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.3% | 10.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.2% | 7.8% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 11.3% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 14° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
28% of working residents cross a state line to work, Davenport among the top destinations. The average commute for its 14,630 working residents takes 19.3 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
The average commute in Rock Island is 19 minutes. Roughly one working resident in four has a job in Rock Island itself. For residents locally, the share who live below the poverty line is 21%. The top destinations are Davenport (17%), Moline (13%) and Milan (5%).
| Rock Island | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Flood insurance has paid out on 35 claims in Rock Island since 1979. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 54% of U.S. communities. Federal aid has come to Rock Island households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2019. FEMA puts 38% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 25% to cold waves.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7 within 15 miles of the center of Rock Island
About 10 of every 100 Rock Island residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
2 colleges in town.
19 places in Rock Island on the National Register of Historic Places.
47 notable people were born in Rock Island.
City in Illinois, United States
Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock and Mississippi rivers, it is one of the Quad Cities along with neighboring Moline and East Moline in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities metropolitan area had a population of 384,324 in 2020. The city is home to Rock Island Arsenal, the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the United States, which employs 6,000 people. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Arsenal Island.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Rock Island.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Moline (C) is closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Island | #719 | D | B+ | D | D | C |
| Milan | #605 | C | A− | C− | D | C+ |
| Moline | #612 | C | B | D | C+ | C+ |
| Rock Island Arsenal | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Moline Township | #490 | B− | B | — | C+ | C+ |
| Rock Island Township | #671 | C− | B+ | — | D | C |
| South Rock Island Township | #603 | C | B+ | — | D | C |
| South Moline Township | #524 | C+ | B | — | C | C+ |
Moline Township, Rock Island Township, South Rock Island Township and South Moline Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Rock Island Arsenal isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rock Island with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rock Island grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #719 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C for health, D for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. That is 1.7 years of the area's median household income ($72,738 across the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-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 B+.
47 notable people were born here, including Madison Keys and Eddie Albert.
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