City comparison
Oak Park, IL is about 70 miles (125 km) from Rockford, IL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 90 miles, or about 1 h 30 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 Oak Park, IL to Rockford, IL takes about 8 min, covering roughly 70 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 53,834 in Oak Park — about 2.8× larger by population. By land area, Rockford covers about 65 sq mi vs 4.7 sq mi for Oak Park.
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 | Oak Park | Rockford | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,409/mo | $906/mo | 55.5% higher in Oak Park |
| Median home value | $440,500 | $114,100 | 286.1% higher in Oak Park |
| Median household income | $103,264 | $50,744 | 103.5% higher in Oak Park |
| Groceries index | 106.3 | 93.9 | 13.2% higher in Oak Park |
| Utilities index | 84.3 | 89.6 | 6.3% higher in Rockford |
| Transportation index | 100.2 | 99.3 | 0.8% higher in Oak Park |
| Healthcare index | 100.4 | 99.5 | 0.8% higher in Oak Park |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Oak Park, you'd need $81,376 in Rockford to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Rockford, IL is about 18.6% cheaper overall than Oak Park, IL, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 59% higher in Oak Park than in Rockford. If you earn $80,000 in Oak Park, you'd need about $65,101 in Rockford to keep the same standard of living.