Rockford, IL vs Elgin, 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 Rockford, IL at $2,329 per resident and in Elgin, IL at $1,641.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Rockford, IL at 100% of total revenue, whereas Elgin, IL relies most on charges and fees at 43%.
Summary
Rockford spends 36.0% 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 | $749 | $754 |
| Income Tax | $0 | $651 |
| Intergovernmental | $6,178 | $1,170 |
| Charges & Fees | $2,152 | $2,267 |
| Other | $2,314 | $1,754 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $0 | $222 |
| Highways & Roads | $0 | $116 |
| Education | $0 | $53 |
| Public Welfare | $724 | $718 |
| Health | $593 | $0 |
| Parks & Recreation | $2,329 | $1,641 |
| Housing | $4,267 | $4,472 |
| Utilities | $1,320 | $2,850 |
| Other | $10,115 | $4,159 |
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Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.