Elgin, IL vs Rockford, IL
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Rockford, IL spends 36% more per resident than Elgin, IL: $19,348 against $14,229. That gap is large enough to show up across most functional budget categories below.
Rockford, IL edges Elgin, IL on the Fiscal Health Score by 1 points — 59/100 (grade C) to 58/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Rockford, IL reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Elgin, IL carries $617 per resident. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Elgin, IL at $1,641 per resident and in Rockford, IL at $2,329.
They also fund themselves differently: charges and fees is the largest single revenue source in Elgin, IL at 43% of total revenue, whereas Rockford, IL relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.
Summary
Rockford spends 26.5% more per capita than Elgin ($5,119/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 | $754 | $749 |
| Income Tax | $651 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $1,170 | $6,178 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,267 | $2,152 |
| Other | $1,754 | $2,314 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $222 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $116 | $0 |
| Education | $53 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $718 | $724 |
| Health | $0 | $593 |
| Parks & Recreation | $1,641 | $2,329 |
| Housing | $4,472 | $4,267 |
| Utilities | $2,850 | $1,320 |
| Other | $4,159 | $10,115 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.