Population
Rockford
147,649
Fort Smith
89,496
Median Income
Rockford
$53,328
Fort Smith
$52,692
Home Value
Rockford
$120,900
Fort Smith
$168,100
Rent
Rockford
$954
Fort Smith
$852
Crime Rate
Rockford
10.81
Fort Smith
8.44
Cost of Living
Rockford
90.8
Fort Smith
85.9
Avg Temp
Rockford
N/A
Fort Smith
N/A
Unemployment
Rockford
8.6%
Fort Smith
6.7%
How Similar Are Rockford & Fort Smith?
Fort Smith is Rockford's #10 most similar city
5 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Rockford
147,649
Fort Smith
89,496
Rockford has a 39% larger population than Fort Smith.
Violent Crime
Rockford
10.81
Fort Smith
8.44
Rockford has a 22% higher violent crime than Fort Smith.
Property Crime
Rockford
25.17
Fort Smith
36.84
Fort Smith has a 32% higher property crime than Rockford.
Political Leaning
Rockford
63.9%
Fort Smith
67.6%
Both cities lean Republican with similar vote shares — 5% difference.
Unemployment
Rockford
8.6%
Fort Smith
6.7%
Rockford has a 23% higher unemployment than Fort Smith.
Median Income
Rockford
$53,328
Fort Smith
$52,692
Both cities have similar median income — just a 1% difference.
Home Values
Rockford
$120,900
Fort Smith
$168,100
Fort Smith has a 28% higher home values than Rockford.
Education
Rockford
15.5%
Fort Smith
16.9%
Both cities have similar education — just a 8% difference.
Demographics
Rockford
55.5%
Fort Smith
61.2%
Both cities have similar demographics — just a 9% difference.
Cost of Living
Rockford
90.8
Fort Smith
85.9
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 5% difference.
5 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Rockford and Fort Smith share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Rockford
0
Fort Smith
Fort Smith leads in 4 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Fort Smith leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDFort Smith has a fair market rent (1br) of $714 vs $852 in Rockford (19% lower). Fort Smith has a fair market rent (2br) of $937 vs $1,118 in Rockford (19% lower). Fort Smith scores 87.3 on the housing index (100 = national avg) vs 97.2 in Rockford.
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market — Fort Smith leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSFort Smith has a median property tax of $1,118 vs $3,219 in Rockford (188% lower). Fort Smith has a median home value of $168,100 vs $120,900 in Rockford (28% higher). Fort Smith has a median rent of $852 vs $954 in Rockford (12% lower).
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSRockford: 69,339 vs Fort Smith: 43,801 for labor force. Fort Smith has a unemployment rate of 6.7% compared to 8.6% in Rockford. Fort Smith has a poverty rate of 18.3% compared to 21.9% in Rockford.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Fort Smith leads
Source: FBI UCRFort Smith has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.66 compared to 1.07 in Rockford. Rockford has a larceny rate (per 1k) of 14.45 compared to 29.04 in Fort Smith. Fort Smith has a burglary rate (per 1k) of 4.67 compared to 6.33 in Rockford.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Fort Smith leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauFort Smith has a bachelor's degree or higher of 16.9% compared to 15.5% in Rockford. Fort Smith has a high school diploma or higher of 36.1% compared to 35.6% in Rockford.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSRockford has a population of 147,649, about 1.6x the size of Fort Smith (89,496).
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Rockford
Fort Smith
Healthcare — Rockford leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareRockford: 5 vs Fort Smith: 4 for with emergency services. Rockford: 2.8 vs Fort Smith: 2.5 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Rockford leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSRockford has a public transit of 1.0% compared to 0.2% in Fort Smith. Rockford has a bicycle of 0.2% compared to 0.1% in Fort Smith. Rockford has a work from home of 7.9% compared to 7.4% in Fort Smith.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Rockford, IL
Compare Rockford against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.