Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Rockford grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns, mostly because of safety and schools. It reports more crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, including 1,324 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Its schools rank behind 95% of the state's. It also has a long history, with 34 places on the National Register. 45% of working residents work locally in Rockford, against 8.3% in Illinois’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 36 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score lower on health. Its National Register listings include Tinker Swiss Cottage and Coronado.
Where Rockford beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Tinker Swiss Cottage| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Rock Valley College | 4,475 |
| Rockford University | 965 |
| Saint Anthony College of Nursing | 156 |
Its 34 National Register listings are more than in 99% of Illinois towns with a listing.
Census counts: 6,979 in 1860, 148,655 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1847 and 5 maps from 1918 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Rockford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rockford, 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 Rockford.
Rockford reports violent crime at 3 times the Illinois rate, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Violent crime runs at 9 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Illinois rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Cherry Valley (D) to Loves Park (C+).
The violent crime rate in Rockford is 9 per 1,000 residents. Rockford reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less. The property crime rate in Rockford is 25 per 1,000 residents.
| Rockford | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Rockford beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 26% of adults worry about having enough food in Rockford.
| Rockford | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 18% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Rockford | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.8% | 7.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.8% | 10.3% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 13.3% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
30 miles of trail in 66 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Anna Page Park, 524 acres with 6.3 miles of trail.
| Rockford | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.4% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Anna Page Park | 6.3 mi | 524 |
| 2. Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden | 3.1 mi | 141 |
| 3. Mercyhealth Sportscore One | 2.2 mi | 156 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Home values rose 60% in five years, to about $185K, against 30% across Illinois.
The typical Rockford home is worth about $185,000, up 9.5% in a year, 37% below the Illinois typical home. 55% of Rockford households own their home.
| Rockford | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 75% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 54% | 46% | 48% |
| Median rent | $985 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Rockford has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 13° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Rockford’s median household income is $55,000. The top destinations are Loves Park (6%), Chicago (6%) and Belvidere (3%). Rockford’s average trip to work is 22 minutes.
| Rockford | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 10% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
562 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 91 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 562 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Rockford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rockford. Close and well known come first.
in town Stadium & arenaBMO Center
27 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
in town GardenAnderson Japanese Gardens
36 mi National Historic SiteRonald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site
28 mi TheatreEgyptian Theatre, DeKalb
in town GardenKlehm Arboretum and Botanic GardenBMO Center: SimLibrarian, CC0 · Illinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Anderson Japanese Gardens: M. Readey, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Egyptian Theatre, DeKalb: Andy McMurray, CC BY 2.5 · Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden: KlehmArboretum, CC BY-SA 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Rockford
About 5 of every 100 Rockford residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
3 colleges in town.
34 places in Rockford on the National Register of Historic Places.
45 notable people were born in Rockford.
City in Illinois, United States
Rockford is a city in Winnebago and Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River. It is the fifth-most populous city in Illinois, with a population of 148,655 at the 2020 census. The Rockford metropolitan area has an estimated 337,000 residents. Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County and the most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropolitan area. Rockford was settled as Midway in the mid-1830s due to its location roughly equidistant between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. The city became notable in the 19th and early 20th centuries for its production of heavy machinery and furniture, but li…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Rockford.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Owen Township (D−) is closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockford · Rockford Township | #767 | D− | C+ | D− | D | D |
| Loves Park | #742 | D | C+ | C+ | D | C |
| New Milford | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Owen Township | #762 | D− | C | — | D | D− |
| Machesney Park | #737 | D | C+ | C+ | D | C+ |
| Cherry Valley | #741 | D | C | D | D | B+ |
| Harlem Township | #712 | D | C+ | — | D | B− |
Owen Township and Harlem Township report no FBI crime data of their own. New Milford isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Rockford Township and Rockford are one community, graded once. Compare Rockford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rockford grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns. It grades D for health, D− for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.7 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+.
45 notable people were born here, including Jodi Benson and James Henry Breasted.
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