Champaign, IL vs Rockford, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Rockford, IL spends 28% more per resident than Champaign, IL: $19,348 against $15,173. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Rockford, IL edges Champaign, IL on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 59/100 (grade C) to 55/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Neither city reports outstanding debt per resident in its current Census filing, which removes debt service as a point of difference between them. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Champaign, IL leads with police at $1,426 per resident, while Rockford, IL leads with parks and recreation at $2,329.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 276% of total revenue in Champaign, IL and 100% in Rockford, IL.
Summary
Rockford spends 21.6% more per capita than Champaign ($4,176/person difference). Rockford, IL has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (C, 59/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $0 | $749 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,573 | $6,178 |
| Charges & Fees | $0 | $2,152 |
| Other | $1,152 | $2,314 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $1,426 | $0 |
| Fire Protection | $488 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $231 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $465 | $724 |
| Health | $0 | $593 |
| Parks & Recreation | $0 | $2,329 |
| Housing | $895 | $4,267 |
| Utilities | $5 | $1,320 |
| Other | $11,663 | $10,115 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.