Welcome to Rockford ...
The city of Rockford is located in Winnebago County<1> and is the County Seat for Winnebago County.
The pronunciation of Rockford: RAHK-ferd<2>
Rockford was established in 1834.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Rockford has a population of 145,573 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Rockford is 750 feet [229 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Rockford lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Telephone area codes for Rockford: (815) & (779)<5>
The ZIP codes for Rockford: 61101-61110, 61112, 61114, 61125-61126<6>
Websites for Rockford ...
Official Website: www.cityofrockford.net/
Chamber of Commerce: www.rockfordchamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Rockford had an population of 145,573 people. This is a decrease of 4.77% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 3.03% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Rockford had a population of 152,871 people (which is 51.77% of the total population of Winnebago County). This makes Rockford the county's most populous community.
The population of Rockford represents 1.19% of the population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 3rd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 152,871 people, the population of Rockford increased 1.84% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 150,115 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Rockford.
Communities Also Named Rockford ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 27 communities that are also named Rockford - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Indiana (2), Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri (3), Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio (2), Ontario (2), Oregon, Saskatchewan, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rockford.
Communities near Rockford ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rockford.
- Beloit
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
- Beloit is located in Rock County (WI)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36,637 people
- Belvidere
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvidere
- Belvidere is located in Boone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,731 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belvidere <7>
- Loves Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loves Park have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Park
- Loves Park is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,382 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loves Park <7>
- Machesney Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Machesney Park have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Machesney Park
- Machesney Park is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22,678 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Machesney Park <7>
- Roscoe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roscoe have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Roscoe is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,406 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roscoe <7>
- South Beloit
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Beloit have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Beloit
- South Beloit is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,540 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Beloit <7>
- Rockton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Rockton is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,477 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockton <7>
- Poplar Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Poplar Grove is located in Boone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,075 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poplar Grove <7>
- Byron
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Byron is located in Ogle County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,650 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Byron <7>
- Winnebago
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnebago
- Winnebago is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,973 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winnebago <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Rockford. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rockford.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rockford. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rockford.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockford. Our list includes 62 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Rockford.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rockford ...
Looking for more information about Rockford? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Rockford, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Rockford.
Adding Rockford to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Rockford in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Rockford was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Rockford post office opened in 1837.
We also found Rockford in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Rockford.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rockford: www.cityofrockford.net/
The official website for Winnebago County: www.co.winnebago.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Winnebago, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Rockford. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Rockford. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rockford - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Area code (779) is an overlay for area code (815). |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Rockford). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Rockford or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Rockford includes: 61101, 61102, 61103, 61104, 61105, 61106, 61107, 61108, 61109, 61112, 61114, 61125 & 61126. |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |