Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Rockford commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
For jobs and income Rockford is better than 94% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (B−). There are 1,190 jobs in Rockford; 2,246 of its residents have a job. Only 4% stay in Rockford for work; outside it, Plymouth is the main destination (9%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Rockford apart
Inside Rockford’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment is its strongest input (1.6%, U.S. 5.2%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($94,162, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rockford could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
What Rockford’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rockford, 2013 → 2023: 760 → 1,190. 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.
A workday in Rockford: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,164 residents head out to work, 82 work right here, and 1,108 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,800 people are in Rockford on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
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 towns that employ Rockford’s residents
Where Rockford clocks in
8% 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.
About 27 minutes each way for Rockford’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rockford workers work from home, vs 18% across Minnesota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,322 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Minnesota: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far it is to work from Rockford
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.
Most of Rockford commutes by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,653 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.2% of Rockford households have no vehicle (Minnesota 6.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rockford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rockford is 276th of 3,753 U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,500 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Independence MN | 3,763 | $187K | 1.1% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Deephaven MN | 3,794 | $198K | 1.7% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 18 | Elko New Market MN | 5,300 | $152K | 1.1% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 274 | Little Suamico WI | 5,794 | $112K | 4.2% | 0.5% | 2% | A |
| 275 | Ball Ground GA | 3,470 | $118K | 1.8% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| 276 | Rockford MN | 4,827 | $94K | 4.8% | 1.6% | 4% | A |
| 277 | Old Westbury NY | 5,071 | $250K | 3.2% | 5.2% | 4% | A |
| 278 | Sherborn MA | 4,455 | $250K | 3.1% | 4.6% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,753 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Minnesota.
Around Rockford: the bordering towns
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rockford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockford | – | A | B− | 27 min | $94,162 |
| Rockford Township | under 3% | A | C+ | 35 min | $93,378 |
| Greenfield | under 3% | A+ | C− | 33 min | $153,750 |
| Franklin Township | under 3% | A+ | C | 29 min | $112,171 |
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 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?
$94,162 (±$17,361) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $89,062 across Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rockford?
4.8%, against 9.3% across Minnesota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rockford?
27 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Minnesota and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rockford work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Plymouth (9%, 15 mi), Buffalo (8%, 8 mi), Minneapolis (8%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rockford walkable?
Rockford is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rockford without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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.