Work & commute · Rockford

Work & commute in Rockford, IL

45% of Rockford’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Loves Park (6%), Chicago (6%) and Belvidere (3%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

45%

25,940 of 57,084 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 31,144 Rockford residents head out of town to work, 25,940 work right here, and 53,022 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rockford.

31,144live here, work elsewhere

25,940live and work here

53,022work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rockford goes to work

Rockford (in town)right here

45%25,940

Loves Park6.4 mi away

6%3,302

Chicago76.5 mi away

6%3,226

Belvidere9 mi away

3%1,598

Machesney Park7.7 mi away

2%1,241

Beloit, WI18.4 mi away

1%686

Rockford0.9 mi away

1%586

Cherry Valley4.8 mi away

1%544

South Beloit15.7 mi away

1%454

Elgin40.7 mi away

1%425

Everywhere elseother towns and states

33%19,082

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Rockford commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

58%

28%

58%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

28%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rockford is balanced between jobs and homes

1.38jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.38 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Rockford are

78,962 jobs are based in Rockford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rockford’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Rockford

78,962 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Rockford residents hold

57,084 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+3%

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.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.