Housing and tax tradeoff: Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois comes out ahead here on rent burden and rent. This only compares rent burden, rent, home price, and estimated state tax burden; it is not a total cost-of-living ranking.
Demand-Backed Comparison
Compare Rockford vs Aurora on cost, climate, safety, and daily life
People have logged this comparison 5 times on WhyThere. The cards open full city pages. The charts and matrix below are the fast side-by-side read on housing, climate, walkability, safety, schools, parks, and day-to-day tradeoffs.
RockfordAurora
What Stands Out
A quick read on this comparison
Deterministic summaries based on the data in view.
Biggest tradeoff: Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois is the sharpest split in this comparison: strong on affordability, weaker on safety.
Potential dealbreaker: Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois needs a closer look before you get too attached, especially on tax burden.
Comparison Matrix
| City | ||
|---|---|---|
| Route | ||
| General Info | ||
| Population | 148,278 | 200,661 |
| Center Elevation | 715 ft(218 m) | 679 ft(207 m) |
| Housing & Wealth | ||
| Median Home | $169,916 | $306,654 |
| Median Rent | $1,165 | $2,195 |
| Median Income | $50,744 | $85,943 |
| Rent Burden | 28% | 31% |
| Climate & Risks | ||
| Days with 5+ Hours of Sun | 284 days/yr | 277 days/yr |
| Avg. High | 60°F | 60°F |
| Avg. Low | 42°F | 43°F |
| Comfort Score | 45/100Mixed | 46/100Mixed |
| Temp Swing | 53°F | 51°F |
| Annual Precipitation | 35"(89 cm) | 42"(107 cm) |
| Annual Snowfall | 33"(84 cm) | 28"(71 cm) |
| Air Quality | Typical: 402024 modeled avg · 1 days > 100 | Typical: 412024 modeled avg · 6 days > 100 |
| Infrastructure & Lifestyle | ||
| Transit Score | N/A | 40 |
| Safety Score | 39 / 100 | 92 / 100 |
| School Rating | 6.2/10 | 7.8/10 |
| Internet Access | Fiber: 0%Cable: 97% | Fiber: 25%Cable: 99% |
| Demographics | ||
| Median Age | 37.5 years | 35.4 years |
| College Educated | 23% | 35% |
| Remote Workers | 7% | 12% |
| Nature Access | ||
| Local Nature & Reserves | Finding... | Finding... |
| Scouting & Local Help | ||
Plan a first lookWays to plan a first visit or connect with a relevant local partner. | Featured Local Partner ADYour logo Partner spot available For organizations that can help someone land in Rockford | Featured Local Partner ADYour logo Partner spot available For organizations that can help someone land in Aurora |
Frequently Checked Pairings
City pairings people keep checking.
See the city pairings people come back to most, then open the full side-by-side comparison when one matches your shortlist.
Compare
312 logged
Chicago, IL & New York, NY
Demand-backed pageOpen
Compare
267 logged
Boston, MA & Chicago, IL
Demand-backed pageOpen
Compare
233 logged
Los Angeles, CA & New York, NY
Demand-backed pageOpen
Compare
230 logged
Barcelona, Spain & Madrid, Spain
Demand-backed pageOpen
Compare
207 logged
Colorado Springs, CO & Fort Collins, CO
Demand-backed pageOpen
Compare
183 logged
Chicago, IL & Los Angeles, CA
Demand-backed pageOpen
Latest Editorial
New from WhyThere.
Essays and data-led lenses on climate, cost, geography, and the shape of daily life.
Collections
Browse the strongest WhyThere lenses.
Collections group cities around a decision lens, not just a category.
Climate LensWarm Leaning
No Real Winter
Cities where cold rarely takes over daily life.
Open collection
Climate LensHigh Elevation
The Altitude Hack
Sunny highland cities that stay much milder than you expect.
Open collection
Climate LensExpectation Breaker
Surprisingly Soggy
Places that quietly out-rain their sunny reputations.
Open collection