† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
2 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupRockford, ILIllinoisUnited States
German22.3%16.1%12.5%
Irish11.9%10.6%9.4%
English9.0%6.9%9.5%
Italian6.9%5.4%4.8%
Swedish6.2%1.5%—
Polish4.2%6.0%2.2%
American2.9%3.3%5.3%
Norwegian2.8%——
Mexican14.0%14.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican1.1%1.7%1.8%
Salvadoran0.3%—0.7%
Cuban0.3%0.2%0.7%
Spaniard0.2%——
Guatemalan0.2%0.3%0.5%
Ecuadorian0.2%0.3%—
African American†9.5%12.1%9.9%
African0.3%0.5%0.5%
Nigerian0.2%0.3%0.2%
Filipino0.4%1.0%0.9%
Asian Indian0.4%2.1%1.4%
Laotian0.4%——
Chinese0.3%1.0%1.3%
Vietnamese0.2%0.2%0.6%
Burmese0.2%——
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Rockford, IL
Illinois
United States
Median age
39.6
39.1
39.1
Age 18–24
8.4%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
18.3%
16.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Rockford, IL
Illinois
United States
Median household income
$68,800
$83,390
$84,427
Poverty rate
14.7%
11.8%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
24.9%
37.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Rockford, IL
Illinois
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
16.1%
24.1%
22.3%
Spanish
11.5%
14.0%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Rockford, IL
Illinois
United States
Catholic
24.7%
24.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
19.0%
11.7%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
44.6%
49.2%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
6.5%
5.3%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Rockford, IL
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−38.9%
1896
−55.7%
1900
−53.3%
1904
−67.0%
1908
−55.5%
1912
−6.4%
1916
−42.9%
1920
−68.8%
1924
−65.1%
1928
−61.9%
1932
−22.0%
1936
−1.3%
1940
−9.9%
1944
−9.9%
1948
−8.4%
1952
−19.5%
1956
−28.0%
1960
−13.5%
1964
+7.7%
1968
−14.0%
1972
−24.6%
1976
−11.4%
1980
−17.1%
1984
−19.4%
1988
−11.6%
1992
+4.5%
1996
+0.8%
2000
−3.2%
2004
−2.8%
2008
+11.5%
2012
+3.8%
2016
−2.2%
2020
−0.1%
2024
−1.9%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
48.1%Harris70,101
50.1%Trump72,930
1.8%
R+1.9
R+1.8
R+0.5
145,603
R
48.3%Biden74,598
48.4%Trump74,744
3.2%
R+0.1
D+2.1
R+4.5
154,318
R
45.2%Clinton64,699
47.5%Trump67,906
7.3%
R+2.2
R+6.1
R+4.3
143,056
D
50.8%Obama71,615
47.0%Romney66,234
2.1%
D+3.8
R+7.7
±0.0
140,838
D
54.9%Obama81,367
43.4%McCain64,289
1.7%
D+11.5
D+14.3
D+4.3
148,188
R
48.3%Kerry68,026
51.0%Bush71,914
0.7%
R+2.8
D+0.4
R+0.3
140,966
R
46.8%Gore58,462
50.0%Bush62,433
3.1%
R+3.2
R+4.0
R+3.7
124,820
D
45.7%Clinton51,609
44.9%Dole50,660
9.4%
D+0.8
R+3.6
R+7.7
112,919
D
42.4%Clinton53,412
38.0%Bush47,810
19.6%
D+4.5
D+16.1
R+1.1
125,842
R
43.9%Dukakis49,514
55.5%Bush62,622
0.6%
R+11.6
D+7.7
R+3.9
112,772
R
40.0%Mondale48,346
59.4%Reagan71,739
0.6%
R+19.4
R+2.3
R+1.2
120,757
R
30.5%Carter35,559
47.6%Reagan55,522
22.0%
R+17.1
R+5.7
R+7.4
116,703
R
43.2%Carter46,857
54.6%Ford59,206
2.2%
R+11.4
D+13.2
R+13.4
108,469
R
37.6%McGovern39,068
62.2%Nixon64,685
0.3%
R+24.6
R+10.6
R+1.5
104,015
R
39.4%Humphrey39,503
53.4%Nixon53,582
7.2%
R+14.0
R+21.8
R+13.3
100,272
D
53.9%Johnson52,528
46.1%Goldwater44,973
0.0%
D+7.7
D+21.3
R+14.8
97,501
R
43.2%Kennedy42,695
56.7%Nixon56,093
0.1%
R+13.5
D+14.4
R+13.7
98,903
R
36.0%Stevenson30,953
63.9%Eisenhower55,038
0.1%
R+28.0
R+8.4
R+12.6
86,086
R
40.1%Stevenson33,696
59.7%Eisenhower50,096
0.2%
R+19.5
R+11.2
R+8.8
83,936
R
45.3%Truman29,086
53.7%Dewey34,453
1.0%
R+8.4
D+1.6
R+12.8
64,195
R
44.8%Roosevelt29,905
54.8%Dewey36,545
0.4%
R+9.9
R+0.1
R+17.4
66,745
R
44.8%Roosevelt30,338
54.6%Willkie37,013
0.6%
R+9.9
R+8.6
R+19.8
67,759
R
47.7%Roosevelt29,583
49.0%Landon30,372
3.3%
R+1.3
D+20.7
R+25.5
62,011
R
36.8%Roosevelt19,946
58.8%Hoover31,876
4.4%
R+22.0
D+39.9
R+39.8
54,200
R
18.6%Smith9,055
80.5%Hoover39,223
0.9%
R+61.9
D+3.2
R+44.4
48,741
R
6.9%Davis2,576
72.0%Coolidge26,850
21.1%
R+65.1
D+3.7
R+39.9
37,278
R
12.4%Cox3,851
81.2%Harding25,299
6.4%
R+68.8
R+26.0
R+42.6
31,159
R
25.1%Wilson7,409
67.9%Hughes20,074
7.0%
R+42.9
R+36.4
R+46.0
29,555
O
16.8%Wilson2,816
23.2%Taft3,898
60.0%
Roosevelt +36.8
D+49.1
R+26.0
16,787
R
17.0%Bryan2,750
72.6%Taft11,724
10.4%
R+55.5
D+11.5
R+46.0
16,155
R
10.2%Parker1,479
77.2%Roosevelt11,179
12.5%
R+67.0
R+13.7
R+47.4
14,472
R
21.2%Bryan3,202
74.5%McKinley11,262
4.3%
R+53.3
D+2.3
R+45.8
15,118
R
20.9%Bryan3,104
76.6%McKinley11,353
2.5%
R+55.7
R+16.7
R+49.6
14,821
R
26.1%Cleveland3,152
65.0%Harrison7,848
8.8%
R+38.9
—
R+40.6
12,067
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
47.7%50,406
50.3%53,129
105,592
2020
R
47.2%71,272
49.0%74,052
151,050
voter registration
Registered voters
Total registered voters, over time
Registered voters
Voter registration in Rockford, IL
Year
Total registered
2016
127,100
2018
133,232
2020
126,625
2022
144,838
2024
150,926
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+181 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −29,660 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Rockford, IL in Rockford, IL: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−3,010
2012
−3,520
2013
−2,386
2014
−3,576
2015
−2,944
2016
−2,470
2017
−2,826
2018
−1,994
2019
−1,991
2021
−1,749
2022
−2,151
2023
−1,094
2024
−130
2025
+181
Rockford's Winnebago County shifted from reliably Democratic to genuine battleground territory as deindustrialization reshaped its working-class electorate, making it one of Illinois's few metro areas that statewide candidates treat as persuadable.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 11.5 points in 2008 and a Republican high of 68.8 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 1.8 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 1.9 points.
A population of 336,522, a 65% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $68,800 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN and Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
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Rockford, IL, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/40420/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Rockford, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 1.9 points (R+1.9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 145,603 votes cast, 70,101 went Democratic and 72,930 went Republican.
When did Rockford, IL, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rockford, IL, Illinois voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Rockford, IL, Illinois?
Rockford, IL, Illinois has a population of 336,522 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rockford, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Rockford, IL, Illinois is $68,800 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Rockford, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Rockford, IL, Illinois from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican.
