Photo: Alexbaumgarner · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Rockford (8.5%) is higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
About half work in Rockford; the top destination outside it is Loves Park (6%, 6 miles). For jobs and income Rockford is better than 22% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (B). Measured by household income, Rockford is behind 82% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Rockford apart
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Rockford
Job access by car holds Rockford’s grade up (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rockford stays C−.
Rockford’s commute takes about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockford workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 55,285 commuters (the 10% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The daily flow of workers through Rockford
On a workday 31,144 residents head out to work, 25,940 work right here, and 53,022 people come in from elsewhere.
About 169,000 people are in Rockford on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.38 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The places Rockford commutes to
Where Rockford clocks in
6% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The 78,962 jobs based in Rockford
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockford, 2013 → 2023: 76,569 → 78,962. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rockford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Rockford works
About 28% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Few in Rockford walk, bike or ride to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 61,487 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 12.7% of Rockford households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Rockford’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
U.S. towns of 103,000 to 199,000, and where Rockford sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Naperville IL | 153,114 | $155K | 4.4% | 4.5% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Lisle Township IL | 119,740 | $119K | 5.0% | 4.5% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Downers Grove Township IL | 149,599 | $117K | 6.2% | 4.3% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 223 | Victorville CA | 141,395 | $74K | 18.4% | 11.1% | 17% | C− |
| 224 | Lansing MI | 113,884 | $54K | 20.1% | 8.2% | 32% | C− |
| 225 | Rockford IL | 147,384 | $55K | 21.3% | 8.5% | 45% | C− |
| 226 | Akron OH | 189,691 | $48K | 23.3% | 7.8% | 31% | C− |
| 227 | Springfield MA | 154,702 | $53K | 25.8% | 8.7% | 37% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 238 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Rockford, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns next door employ 10% of Rockford
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rockford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockford | – | C− | B | 22 min | $54,752 |
| Loves Park | 6% | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $61,868 |
| New Milford | under 1% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Owen Township | under 1% | A | D− | 27 min | $95,370 |
| Machesney Park | 2% | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $75,489 |
| Cherry Valley | 1% | B | B− | 24 min | $74,655 |
| Harlem Township | under 1% | B− | C+ | 23 min | $77,883 |
| Rockford Township | 1% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. New Milford and Rockford Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Loves Park. Darker towns draw more of Rockford’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Rockford: questions
What is the median household income in Rockford?
$54,752 (±$2,248) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockford?
21.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockford?
22 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockford work?
45% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Loves Park (6%, 6 mi), Chicago (6%, 76 mi), Belvidere (3%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rockford walkable?
Rockford is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockford without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rockford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rockford
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.