Households in Rockford have higher incomes than those in 82% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 23% of workers, where Michigan as a whole has 14%. 5.0% of residents are in poverty (Michigan 13.2%). Jobs and income earn Rockford B+; getting around on foot earns it B−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Rockford, in brief
Rockford is where the jobs are
Rockford has 4,702 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A lot of Rockford works from home
23% of Rockford workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published.
How Rockford earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rockford is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #195 of 701 in Michigan. Household income holds Rockford’s grade up ($107,121, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (6.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rockford could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Who commutes out of Rockford, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,549 residents head out to work, 251 work right here, and 4,451 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,200 people are in Rockford on a workday afternoon, 30% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Rockford
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockford workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,497 commuters (the 23% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who travels to work in Rockford, and from where
Where Rockford clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
Jobs in Rockford: what the 4,702 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockford, 2011 → 2021: 4,013 → 4,702. 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 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rockford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Rockford commutes
About 16% 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 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Rockford: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rockford is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #233 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,247 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). 5.4% of Rockford households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rockford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rockford is 963rd of 3,349 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,500 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 961 | Summit View WA | 8,480 | $109K | 5.3% | 6.0% | 1% | B+ |
| 962 | Cold Spring KY | 6,640 | $75K | 9.9% | 2.0% | 3% | B+ |
| 963 | Rockford MI | 6,313 | $107K | 5.0% | 6.2% | 9% | B+ |
| 964 | Raymond ME | 4,670 | $88K | 5.3% | 2.2% | 7% | B+ |
| 965 | Williamson NY | 6,790 | $91K | 9.0% | 1.5% | 15% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,349 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Michigan.
Next door to Rockford
The biggest share goes to Plainfield Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rockford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockford | – | B+ | B− | 25 min | $107,121 |
| Algoma Township | under 2% | A+ | C− | 28 min | $123,078 |
| Courtland Township | under 2% | A | D | 28 min | $107,321 |
| Cannon Township | under 2% | A | D | 26 min | $131,956 |
| Plainfield Township | 6% | A− | C+ | 20 min | $94,218 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 2021, 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?
$107,121 (±$15,091) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockford?
5.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockford?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockford work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (24%, 13 mi), Plainfield Township (6%, 5 mi), Kentwood (5%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Rockford walkable?
Rockford is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% 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), 2021, 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.