Rockford, Illinois: Industrial Catholic Metro market. In 2024, voted R+9%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+9MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 465,6542024 5-year
- Median household income
- $69,9362024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 71.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 9.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 14.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+8 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1920MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Rockford
TrumpR+9
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 53.4% | 111,407 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 44.8% | 93,367 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.8% | 3,736 |
D+60R+60
5 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −21.5% |
| 1896 | −37.9% |
| 1900 | −36.0% |
| 1904 | −49.9% |
| 1908 | −37.8% |
| 1912 | +4.2% |
| 1916 | −36.4% |
| 1920 | −64.4% |
| 1924 | −56.0% |
| 1928 | −52.3% |
| 1932 | −13.1% |
| 1936 | −5.2% |
| 1940 | −19.3% |
| 1944 | −19.8% |
| 1948 | −17.3% |
| 1952 | −29.6% |
| 1956 | −34.8% |
| 1960 | −20.9% |
| 1964 | +3.0% |
| 1968 | −20.6% |
| 1972 | −30.0% |
| 1976 | −15.0% |
| 1980 | −24.0% |
| 1984 | −26.7% |
| 1988 | −16.8% |
| 1992 | +0.5% |
| 1996 | −2.7% |
| 2000 | −7.4% |
| 2004 | −7.9% |
| 2008 | +7.6% |
| 2012 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | −7.8% |
| 2020 | −6.2% |
| 2024 | −8.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 93,367 | 111,407 | 208,510 | ||
| R | 99,488 | 113,143 | 219,209 | ||
| R | 86,045 | 101,953 | 203,081 | ||
| D | 98,231 | 98,227 | 200,681 | ||
| D | 111,734 | 95,600 | 210,961 | ||
| R | 92,373 | 108,351 | 202,253 | ||
| R | 80,308 | 93,542 | 179,419 | ||
| R | 71,414 | 75,766 | 163,561 | ||
| D | 73,353 | 72,475 | 183,024 | ||
| R | 67,223 | 94,511 | 162,707 | ||
| R | 63,791 | 110,657 | 175,439 | ||
| R | 48,991 | 90,207 | 171,400 | ||
| R | 66,588 | 90,631 | 160,479 | ||
| R | 55,003 | 102,417 | 157,813 | ||
| R | 55,669 | 87,169 | 153,096 | ||
| D | 77,614 | 73,100 | 150,714 | ||
| R | 61,438 | 94,026 | 155,662 | ||
| R | 45,493 | 94,130 | 139,759 | ||
| R | 48,797 | 89,834 | 138,836 | ||
| R | 44,659 | 63,537 | 109,136 | ||
| R | 46,510 | 69,570 | 116,595 | ||
| R | 50,087 | 74,119 | 124,831 | ||
| R | 52,771 | 58,805 | 115,131 | ||
| R | 43,272 | 56,865 | 103,471 | ||
| R | 21,801 | 70,261 | 92,690 | ||
| R | 8,986 | 52,300 | 77,350 | ||
| R | 10,058 | 51,806 | 64,859 | ||
| R | 20,166 | 45,318 | 69,061 | ||
| O | 10,411 | 8,761 | 39,028 | ||
| R | 10,731 | 25,432 | 38,899 | ||
| R | 7,567 | 25,798 | 36,524 | ||
| R | 11,884 | 26,014 | 39,232 | ||
| R | 11,491 | 26,088 | 38,484 | ||
| R | 11,853 | 18,874 | 32,686 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
25.1%
Irish
12.5%
English
9.4%
Italian
6.0%
Polish
4.0%
American
3.1%
Scottish
1.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 40.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$69,936
Rockford ranks near the middle of US counties.
Rockford$69,936
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.3%
Working age (18–64)12.2%
Seniors (65+)10.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
86.8%
speak English only
Spanish9.5%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%
Other languages0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 45.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Rockford DMA anchors Illinois's northwest corner, blending deindustrialized Winnebago County precincts with rural collar communities that have shifted markedly toward Republican margins over the past decade.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of eight points in 2008 and a Republican high of sixty-four points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was nine points.
A population of 465,654, a 72% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $69,936 describe the market.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Rockford, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/610/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Rockford, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rockford, Illinois voted Republican by 8.7 points (R+9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 208,510 votes cast, 93,367 went Democratic and 111,407 went Republican.
What is Rockford, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Rockford, Illinois in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 4 times, Republican 29 times, and other 1 times.
When did Rockford, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rockford, Illinois voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Rockford, Illinois?
Rockford, Illinois has a population of 465,654 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rockford, Illinois?
Median household income in Rockford, Illinois is $69,936 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Rockford, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rockford, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The market's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.