Rockford pays below most of Illinois for this role, though still within a normal range for the state. That's noticeably below the national average for lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, worth factoring into any relocation math. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.
Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Rockford ranks #143 for cost of living and #156 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.
| City | Mean salary | vs. Rockford |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, Maryland | $58,460 | +22.5% |
| Buffalo, New York | $54,690 | +14.6% |
| Chicago, Illinois | $51,390 | +7.7% |
| Dallas, Texas | $50,340 | +5.5% |
| Detroit, Michigan | $50,910 | +6.7% |
| Erie, Pennsylvania | $44,570 | -6.6% |
| Flint, Michigan | $44,970 | -5.8% |
| Fort Wayne, Indiana | $52,170 | +9.3% |
| Grand Rapids, Michigan | $47,700 | -0.0% |
| Houston, Texas | $44,480 | -6.8% |
| Huntington, West Virginia | $54,180 | +13.5% |
| Indianapolis, Indiana | $53,560 | +12.2% |
| Jackson, Michigan | $41,660 | -12.7% |
| Los Angeles, California | $58,080 | +21.7% |
| Louisville, Kentucky | $48,520 | +1.7% |
| New York, New York | $56,960 | +19.4% |
| Oxnard, California | $50,220 | +5.2% |
| Peoria, Illinois | $55,480 | +16.3% |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | $52,450 | +9.9% |
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | $60,010 | +25.8% |
| Riverside, California | $56,780 | +19.0% |
| Rochester, New York | $53,330 | +11.8% |
| Sacramento, California | $62,570 | +31.1% |
| San Diego, California | $59,970 | +25.7% |
| San Francisco, California | $60,670 | +27.1% |
| San Jose, California | $70,500 | +47.7% |
| South Bend, Indiana | $52,590 | +10.2% |
| Syracuse, New York | $46,580 | -2.4% |
| Terre Haute, Indiana | $51,100 | +7.1% |
Single filer, federal + Illinois state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.
Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.
The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.
Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.
