What is the cost of living in Rockford?

Rockford has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.2, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 70.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,175/month.

What is the median salary in Rockford?

The median salary in Rockford is $64,710 annually (mean: $68,449). Top occupations include Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Rockford?

The violent crime rate in the Rockford area is 277 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1665 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Rockford?

The state of IL has 3,845 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Rockford?

Infant center-based childcare in the Rockford area averages $12,257 per year. Preschool averages $9,481/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Rockford a good place to relocate?

Rockford has a Life Score of 52.7/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Rockford sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Rockford ranks #126 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Rockford, IL

LiveAbility 55.2/100 places Rockford #126 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.2
Cost index (US=100): $1,175
2BR rent / mo: $64,710
Median salary: 55.2
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Rockford ranks #126 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (55.2/100), with its strongest marks in housing and safety.

#126
of 387 US metros · Above median: 12,710,158
metro-area population: 277
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,845
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (26/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Rockford ranks #126 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.2 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,175/mo, median salary $64,710; LiveAbility Score 55.2/100, strongest in housing and safety.

Signature: LiveAbility 55.2/100 places Rockford #126 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.2 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,175/mo.

LiveAbility 55.2/100 puts Rockford in the top third (#126 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Rockford area is 131,350.

Rockford vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

55 Top 33% higher than 67% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Rockford housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Rockford MSA; housing RPP 70.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,175/mo.

Studio

$810

/month

1 Bedroom

$895

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,175

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,555

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,594

/month

Rockford wages and employment

Rockford posts 131,350 total employment with median salary $64,710.

Median Salary

$64,710

Mean Salary

$68,449

Total Employment

131,350

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$44,200
Registered Nurses	$80,930
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$31,640
Cashiers	$31,680
General and Operations Managers	$98,390

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Rockford area from NCES.

Schools

3,845

Enrollment

1,844,783

Student:Teacher

14:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Rockford area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$12,257

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,556

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,481

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Rockford's composite Life Score is 52.7/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

62/100

Above average

Wages

54/100

Average

Rent

68/100

Strong

Crime

63/100

Above average

Schools

41/100

Below average

Childcare

26/100

Weak

Environment

32/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Rockford ranks #126 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 55.2/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (68/100)

Housing

68
Safety

63
Cost of living

62
Schools

59
Job market

54
Air quality

54
Climate

41
Low hazard

26

What this shows Rockford's strongest dimensions are housing and safety; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 26/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Rockford to

Stockton-Lodi Sumter Syracuse Tallahassee Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Terre Haute

Metros near Rockford on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Rockford on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Rockford cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Rockford wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Rockford?

Rockford runs a $64,710 median salary at a 92.2 cost index, ranking #126 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Rockford's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Rockford head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Rockford
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.