Overall
- Rockford
- 92.2
Diff +20.4 RPP
Rockford vs New York-Newark-Jersey City
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. New York-Newark-Jersey City is 22.1% more expensive than Rockford.
22.1% more expensive
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ is 22.1% more expensive than Rockford, IL on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 112.6 vs 92.2). A $100,000 salary in Rockford buys about the same as $122,147 in New York-Newark-Jersey City; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 92.2 (Rockford) vs 112.6 (New York-Newark-Jersey City)
- $100k in Rockford ≈ $122,147 purchasing power in New York-Newark-Jersey City
- Rents drives the gap (+78.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair IL:NY 92.2→112.6
TIER-GAP · CROSS-STATE · RENT-LED · BENCH-CROSS · PP-STEEP
- TIER-GAP Clear tier gap
- CROSS-STATE IL × NY
- RENT-LED Rent-led gap
- BENCH-CROSS Benchmark cross
- PP-STEEP Steep PP convert
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Rockford would need to be in New York-Newark-Jersey City for the same purchasing power:
| In Rockford | In New York-Newark-Jersey City | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $61,073 | +$11,073 |
| $75,000 | $91,610 | +$16,610 |
| $100,000 | $122,147 | +$22,147 |
| $150,000 | $183,220 | +$33,220 |
$ in Rockford = in New York-Newark-Jersey City
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (92.2 → 112.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Rockford, IL and New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ sit in clearly different price tiers, separated by 20.4 RPP points. At this distance, treating the same nominal salary as equivalent would materially change purchasing power.
This route crosses the national benchmark: New York-Newark-Jersey City is above 100 while Rockford is below it. That makes the move a change of price regime, not merely a rank swap.
Rents leads the difference, with New York-Newark-Jersey City 78.5 points higher than Rockford. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Rockford corresponds to $122,147 in New York-Newark-Jersey City.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Rockford
- 93.6
Diff +16.6 RPP
Services
- Rockford
- 89.4
Diff +37.6 RPP
Rents
- Rockford
- 70.1
Diff +78.5 RPP
| Category | Rockford | New York-Newark-Jersey City | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 92.2 | 112.6 | +20.4 |
| Goods | 93.6 | 110.3 | +16.6 |
| Services | 89.4 | 127.0 | +37.6 |
| Rents | 70.1 | 148.6 | +78.5 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Rockford 92.2
New York-Newark-Jersey City 112.6
Goods
Rockford 93.6
New York-Newark-Jersey City 110.3
Services
Rockford 89.4
New York-Newark-Jersey City 127.0
Rents
Rockford 70.1
New York-Newark-Jersey City 148.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
Rockford
92.2
Cost Index
New York-Newark-Jersey City
112.6
Cost Index
How the Price Gap Changed
Rockford and New York-Newark-Jersey City share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap widened, moving from 16.8 to 20.4 RPP points. New York-Newark-Jersey City remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Services changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 12.3 points between the first and latest shared releases (49.9 to 37.6 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Rockford RPP | New York-Newark-Jersey City RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 96.7 | 113.5 | 16.8 points New York-Newark-Jersey City higher |
| 2012 | 93.9 | 113.8 | 19.9 points New York-Newark-Jersey City higher |
| 2016 | 93.3 | 113.7 | 20.5 points New York-Newark-Jersey City higher |
| 2020 | 91.8 | 115.6 | 23.8 points New York-Newark-Jersey City higher |
| 2024 | 92.2 | 112.6 | 20.4 points New York-Newark-Jersey City higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is New York-Newark-Jersey City more expensive than Rockford?
New York-Newark-Jersey City is 22.1% more expensive than Rockford. The overall cost index is 112.6 vs 92.2 (national average = 100).
What salary in New York-Newark-Jersey City equals $100K in Rockford?
A $100,000 salary in Rockford has the same purchasing power as $122,147 in New York-Newark-Jersey City. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Rockford and New York-Newark-Jersey City?
Rents in Rockford are indexed at 70.1 while New York-Newark-Jersey City is at 148.6 (national average = 100). New York-Newark-Jersey City has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.