Riverside, CA vs Rockford, IL
Moving from Riverside to Rockford? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($585,378 → $221,368 median home) and taxes.
Riverside vs Rockford at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Riverside, CA, you'd need about $84,000 in Rockford, IL (−$16,000).
Livability — Riverside, CA: 48 · Rockford, IL: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,281 sqft in Riverside vs 3,840 sqft in Rockford ($390 vs $130 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Riverside, CA | Rockford, IL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $30,228 | $15,828 | −$14,400 |
| Groceries | $5,098 | $4,655 | −$443 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,550 | −$1,575 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $2,208 | −$1,596 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,900 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $19,978 | $11,929 | −$8,049 |
| Total | $65,733 | $40,070 | −$25,663 |
Side by side
| Metric | Riverside, CA | Rockford, IL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 107.3 | 90.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.95% | 7.53% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.0% | -0.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.11 | $5.13 |
| Median home price | $585,378 | $221,368 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.2× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.8% | 9.1% |
| Price per square foot | $390 | $130 |
| Median rent | $2,519 | $1,319 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 12.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 8.86% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 4.95% |
| Property tax rate | 0.79% | 2.54% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $14,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 33 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 20.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.60 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $138 | $57 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $77 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 15 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 9.4 | 40.9 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 38.8 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 78% | 54% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |