Rockford vs Scranton
Metro-area medians — Rockford, IL Metro Area vs Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Scranton comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.
Rockford and Scranton are closely matched on both cost of living and household income. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Rockford.
Their widest everyday difference: Scranton has the tighter job market — 4.6% unemployment versus 6%.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Scranton leaves you about $570/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose Rockford for
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median rent
- + Median home value
Choose Scranton for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Unemployment
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
- + Average commute
- + Air quality (median AQI)
More comparisons
Metros closest to Rockford and Scranton on cost, income, size, and education.
Rockford vs Scranton — frequently asked
- Is Rockford cheaper than Scranton?
- They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Rockford and Scranton metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
- Which has higher household income, Rockford or Scranton?
- Rockford has the higher median household income — $70,111 versus $68,079 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 3% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Rockford or Scranton?
- A paycheck stretches further in Rockford. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $76,080 there versus $72,768 in Scranton.
- Which has cheaper rent, Rockford or Scranton?
- Rockford has cheaper rent — a median of $1,014/mo versus $1,072/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).