Champaign composite
55.0 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Champaign vs Rockford
Champaign-Urbana, IL and Rockford, IL side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 55.0
- Champaign Life Score
- B+
- Champaign grade
- 52.4
- Rockford Life Score
- B
- Rockford grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Champaign scores higher on 4 (wages, rent, safety, childcare) and Rockford on 3 (cost of living, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Champaign Rockford ◗
cost of living
57
62
wages
65
54
rent
77
68
safety
71
69
schools
27
29
childcare
28
26
environment
30
31
Champaign and Rockford differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Champaign has a cost-of-living index of 92.7 vs Rockford's 92.2 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $66,936 in Champaign and $64,710 in Rockford. A 2-bedroom averages $1,122/mo vs $1,175/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Champaign vs Rockford Comparison
Champaign (IL) and Rockford (IL) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 92.7 for Champaign against 92.2 for Rockford, a 0.5-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,122/mo in Champaign and $1,175/mo in Rockford, a $53/mo difference that compounds to $636 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $66,936 across 94,460 jobs in Champaign against $64,710 across 131,350 jobs in Rockford. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Champaign carries the same local purchasing power as $99,407 in Rockford - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 277.5 per 100,000 residents in IL vs 277.5 in IL, with property-crime rates of 1664.8 and 1664.8 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: IL lists 3,845 public schools at a 14.0:1 student-teacher ratio, while IL lists 3,845 schools at 14.0:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $12,257/yr in the Champaign area versus $12,257/yr in Rockford - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Champaign and Rockford are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Rockford composite
52.4 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
0.5 pts
Champaign vs Rockford BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$53 /mo
Rockford priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Champaign
Champaign composite (Grade B+)
Rockford
Rockford composite (Grade B)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Champaign | Rockford |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 92.7 | 92.2 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 93.6 |
| Services | 90.5 | 89.4 |
| Rents | 71.6 | 70.1 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Rockford gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Champaign?
$
Equivalent in Rockford:
$99,407
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Champaign: 92.7, Rockford: 92.2, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Champaign | Rockford |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $941/mo | $810/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $946/mo | $895/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,122/mo | $1,175/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,436/mo | $1,555/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,486/mo | $1,594/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Champaign | Rockford |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $66,936 | $64,710 |
| Total Employment | 94,460 | 131,350 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Champaign (IL) | Rockford (IL) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 277.5 | 277.5 |
| Property Crime | 1664.8 | 1664.8 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | IL | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 3,845 | 3,845 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 14.0:1 | 14.0:1 |
| Charter Schools | 3.5% | 3.5% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | IL | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $12,257/yr | $12,257/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $10,556/yr | $10,556/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $9,481/yr | $9,481/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | IL | IL |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,145 | 1,145 |
| Water Systems | 1,785 | 1,785 |
| Superfund Sites | 56 | 56 |
| Water Violations | 3,029 | 3,029 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Champaign | Rockford |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 43.0 | 40.0 |
| Good Air Days | 65.8% | 68.7% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 4 days | 6 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | IL | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 25/100 | 25/100 |
| Total Violations | 355,322 | 355,322 |
| Health-Based Violations | 52,932 | 52,932 |
| Systems with Violations | 80.8% | 80.8% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | IL | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 50/100 | 50/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 49.8% | 49.8% |
| HPSA Designations | 731 | 731 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | IL | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 57/100 | 57/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 54.5 | 54.5 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 56.1 | 56.1 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Champaign more expensive than Rockford? ▼
Champaign has a cost of living index of 92.7 compared to Rockford's 92.2 (national average = 100). Champaign is 0.5 points above Rockford on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Champaign and Rockford? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,122/mo in Champaign vs $1,175/mo in Rockford, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $941/mo to $810/mo.
How do salaries compare between Champaign and Rockford? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $66,936 in Champaign and $64,710 in Rockford, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Champaign has the same purchasing power as $99,407 in Rockford.
Is Champaign or Rockford safer? ▼
At the state level, IL has a violent crime rate of 277.5 per 100,000 residents compared to IL's 277.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1664.8 vs 1664.8 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Champaign and Rockford? ▼
IL has 3,845 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.0:1, while IL has 3,845 schools at 14.0:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of IL schools vs 3.5% in IL. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare