Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Illinois.
Rockton Township’s strongest subject is schools — its public schools beat nine in ten Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. What counts against it is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than nearly two thirds of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Homes run about $196K for a typical one, 2.9 times the Rockford metro’s $68K median household income. It also trails on walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 62% of U.S. towns. The overall grade lands at B+, 320th of 767 in Illinois. Set against the rest, it does better than 71% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Carl & Myrna Nygren Wetland, 708 acres with 10.7 miles of trail.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · OpenStreetMap.
Where Rockton Township beats most towns.
Where Rockton Township’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 Rockton Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 949 in 1880, 7,863 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 5 maps from 1918 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rockton Township, 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 Rockton Township.
27 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. In Rockton Township, the trail network density is 0.7 miles per square mile, above both Illinois’ towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carl & Myrna Nygren Wetland | 10.7 mi | 708 |
| 2. Hononegah Forest Preserve | 2.7 mi | 236 |
| 3. Macktown County Forest Preserve | 0.7 mi | 129 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Of its 12 schools, three are listed below, each with the reason. The 6 public schools in Rockton Township teach 2,102 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Mack Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 552 | A |
| Hononegah CHD High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,814 | A |
| Whitman Post Elem SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 509 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
25% of working residents cross a state line to work, Beloit among the top destinations.
The top destinations are Rockford (20%), Beloit (10%) and Rockton (6%). In Rockton Township, 7.6% of workers work from home. Half the trips to work are shorter than 14 miles.
| Rockton Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 7.6% | 11% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The share of adults in Rockton Township who have obesity: 38%. Of 32 CDC measures, Rockton Township beats the Illinois average on 6 and trails it on 2. Just over a third of Rockton Township adults sleep under 7 hours, below both the Illinois town median (35%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%).
| Rockton Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 35% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 37% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Rockton Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The range runs from 13° on a January night to 83° on a July afternoon, with about 38 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Compared with 66% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Rockton Township is higher. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1978: 6. Expected losses in Rockton Township break down as 62% from inland flooding and 15% from cold waves.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Illinois average. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 31%, against 38% across Illinois. 24% of residents are under 18 in Rockton Township.
| Rockton Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 39.3 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 19% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.2 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 39.7, men 38.5.
| Rockton Township | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.1% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.2% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.9% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.5% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.1% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.4% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.9% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.6% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rockton Township. Close and well known come first.
33 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
13 mi Stadium & arenaBMO Center
39 mi TheatreAlpine Valley Music Theatre
12 mi GardenAnderson Japanese Gardens
34 mi TheatreWoodstock Opera House
14 mi GardenKlehm Arboretum and Botanic GardenIllinois 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 · Woodstock Opera House: HrAtsuo, CC0 · Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden: KlehmArboretum, CC BY-SA 4.0
5 within 15 miles of the center of Rockton Township
About 3 of every 100 Rockton Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Rockton is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois. It is located in the Rock River Valley and is part of the Rockford metropolitan area. The population was 7,863 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Rockton Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockton Township | #320 | B+ | B− | — | A | B+ |
| Shirland Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Roscoe Township | #315 | B+ | C− | — | A | B+ |
| Owen Township | #762 | D− | C | — | D | D− |
| Rockton | #152 | A | B− | B+ | A | B+ |
| Roscoe | #314 | B+ | C− | B+ | A | A− |
Rockton Township, Roscoe Township and Owen Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Shirland Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rockton Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Rockton Township grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns and #320 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B+ for health and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
