Rockford, IL vs Champaign, 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: Rockford, IL leads with parks and recreation at $2,329 per resident, while Champaign, IL leads with police at $1,426.
On the revenue side both lean hardest on intergovernmental transfers — 100% of total revenue in Rockford, IL and 276% in Champaign, IL.
Summary
Rockford spends 27.5% 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 | $749 | $0 |
| Intergovernmental | $6,178 | $4,573 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,152 | $0 |
| Other | $2,314 | $1,152 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Police | $0 | $1,426 |
| Fire Protection | $0 | $488 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $231 |
| Public Welfare | $724 | $465 |
| Health | $593 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,329 | $0 |
| Housing | $4,267 | $895 |
| Utilities | $1,320 | $5 |
| Other | $10,115 | $11,663 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.