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Work & commute in Rockford · A commuter town

100% of Rockford’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Rockford for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Carrollton (28%), Brookfield (8%) and Kansas City (8%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 25 working residents
Typical commute
25 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Work from home
21%
More than MO (13%)
Jobs based here
1
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Rockford?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

28% of working residents work in Carrollton

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Bosworth: 1 residents work here (4%)Carrollton: 7 residents work here (28%)Brookfield: 2 residents work here (8%)Gladstone: 1 residents work here (4%)Chillicothe: 1 residents work here (4%)Maryland Heights: 1 residents work here (4%)Jefferson City: 1 residents work here (4%)Kansas City: 2 residents work here (8%)Independence: 1 residents work here (4%)Columbia: 2 residents work here (8%)TriplettDe WittHurricaneRockfordRidgeCarrolltonBrookfieldKansas CityColumbiaBosworthGladstoneRockford
1
Carrollton13.9 mi away
28%7
2
Brookfield23.9 mi away
8%2
3
Kansas City72.2 mi away
8%2
4
Columbia62.7 mi away
8%2
5
Bosworth3.1 mi away
4%1
6
Gladstone70.8 mi away
4%1
7
Chillicothe26.2 mi away
4%1
8
Maryland Heights159.4 mi away
4%1
9
Jefferson City86.3 mi away
4%1
10
Independence63.4 mi away
4%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
24%6
The top trips

Where Rockford clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

Working from home in Rockford

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

Working from home
21%

of Rockford workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
Day and night

Rockford quiets down on a workday

On a workday 25 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 1 people come in from elsewhere.

25live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
1work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night120
Workday99
120live here− 25head out to work+ 1come in to work= 99on a workday

About 99 people are in Rockford on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.04jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.04 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Rockford commutes less than 25 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miCarrollton: 28% · 13.9 miBrookfield: 8% · 23.9 miKansas City: 8% · 72.2 miColumbia: 8% · 62.7 miBosworth: 4% · 3.1 miGladstone: 4% · 70.8 miChillicothe: 4% · 26.2 miMaryland Heights: 4% · 159.4 miJefferson City: 4% · 86.3 miIndependence: 4% · 63.4 miCarrollton 28%Brookfield 8%Kansas City 8%Columbia 8%Bosworth 4%Rockford
RockfordTop destinations (size = commuters)
4%Under 10 mi1 residents
48%10–24 mi12 residents
12%25–50 mi3 residents
36%Over 50 mi9 residents

About 36% 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 2023.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

1 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 RockfordJobs Rockford residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%28%
Trade, transport & utilities0%24%
Services: health, schools, offices100%48%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less100%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month0%44%
Over $3,333 a month0%44%

Who does it

29 or younger0%28%
30 to 540%48%
55 and older100%24%
−98%

Jobs based in Rockford, 2013 → 2023: 53 → 1. 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.

Next door

Rockford and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of Rockford’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Rockford

Rockford home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Rockford, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
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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.

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