2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Rockford, IL vs Madison, WI

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Highlights
- Household income in Madison, is 50% more than it is in Rockford and is 2% above the National Average.
- Rockford unemployment rate is 10.1%.
- Madison unemployment rate is 3.3%.
 Rockford, ILMadison, WIUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock3.3%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.0%1.6%
 Future Job Growth21.9%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.3%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock6.3%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$27,186  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$70,466$69,021
 Family Median Income$58,497  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Rockford, ILMadison, WIUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock10.1%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K6.5%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock7.5%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K10.1%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock7.2%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K8.7%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.4%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K10.7%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock16.9%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K4.0%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock8.0%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Rockford, ILMadison, WIUnited States
 Management, business, finance10.2%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock15.5%6.5%
 Community, social services1.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.4%1.2%
 Education, library3.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.6%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.6%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.2%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance4.6%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.1%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support20.6%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair5.9%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock8.1%13.1%
Reviews for Rockford    54 Reviews

Over 5 years ago

I've lived here my whole life . I love  More

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I was raised in the area and lived here 3/4 of my life. Rockford has definitely made efforts to bring events into the area so there are things to do and they have  More

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Over 6 years ago

Rockford has made great strides in the past 20 years. Downtown used to be a ghost town. Now, there are activities almost every weekend. City government has worked to  More

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Reviews for Madison    78 Reviews

Unfortunately, a number of these reviews are politically based. Madison remains the only shining star in Wisconsin’s economy. The economy is broadly based, with  More

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Have been living in Madison for almost 3 years. It’s very safe, ppl generally friendly and for a town of its size it has fair number of good restaurants and interesting  More

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Lacks balance and zero accountability.   More

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