City comparison
Mount Prospect, IL is about 60 miles (100 km) from Rockford, IL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 70 miles, or about 1 h 15 min behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Mount Prospect, IL to Rockford, IL takes about 7 min, covering roughly 60 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Rockford has a population of 148,173, vs 56,191 in Mount Prospect — about 2.6× larger by population. By land area, Rockford covers about 65 sq mi vs 11 sq mi for Mount Prospect.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Mount Prospect | Rockford | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,368/mo | $906/mo | 51.0% higher in Mount Prospect |
| Median home value | $367,900 | $114,100 | 222.4% higher in Mount Prospect |
| Median household income | $100,526 | $50,744 | 98.1% higher in Mount Prospect |
| Groceries index | 106.3 | 93.9 | 13.2% higher in Mount Prospect |
| Utilities index | 84.3 | 89.6 | 6.3% higher in Rockford |
| Transportation index | 100.2 | 99.3 | 0.8% higher in Mount Prospect |
| Healthcare index | 100.4 | 99.5 | 0.8% higher in Mount Prospect |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Mount Prospect, you'd need $81,470 in Rockford to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Rockford, IL is about 18.5% cheaper overall than Mount Prospect, IL, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 59% higher in Mount Prospect than in Rockford. If you earn $80,000 in Mount Prospect, you'd need about $65,176 in Rockford to keep the same standard of living.