Illinois

Distance from Chicago to Rockford

Straight-line distance

76.5mi

Chicago, IL and Rockford, IL are 76.5 miles (123.1 km) apart in a straight line. From Chicago, the shortest path starts out heading WNW (293°).

kilometers
123.1
nautical miles
66.5
heading from Chicago
293° WNW
heading from Rockford
112° ESE
ChicagoRockford

Orange line: great-circle path · ring: midpoint · thin lines: county borders

How far Chicago is from Rockford

The great-circle distance between the Census internal points of Chicago and Rockford is 76.5 miles, 123.1 km or 66.5 nautical miles. That is the shortest path over the Earth's surface, computed with the haversine formula on a sphere with the mean Earth radius, 6,371.0 km. A course held on one compass bearing (a rhumb line) would be 76.5 miles, practically the same at this range.

Measurements

Miles
76.5
Kilometers
123.1
Nautical miles
66.5
Bearing from Chicago
292.9° WNW
Bearing arriving at Rockford
292.0°
Bearing from Rockford
112.0° ESE

Halfway between Chicago and Rockford

The great-circle midpoint is at 42.050212, -88.371909 (42°03'0.76"N 88°22'18.87"W). The nearest incorporated place of 1,000 or more people is Elgin, IL, with 114,701 residents, 2.5 miles from the midpoint. To find towns near the midpoint of any two places, use the halfway tool.

Time zones and daylight

Both use America/Chicago, so there is no time difference. On June 21, Chicago gets 15 h 13 min of daylight and Rockford 15 h 16 min; on December 21, 9 h 08 min and 9 h 05 min. The two sit at nearly the same latitude, so their day lengths match closely all year.

Population compared

Chicago has 18.5 times the population of Rockford. From July 2020 to July 2024, Chicago changed by -0.9% and Rockford by -0.8%. Both are in Illinois.

  1. 01Chicago, IL2,721,308 (-0.9%)
  2. 02Rockford, IL147,486 (-0.8%)
July 1, 2024 population and change since July 2020, Census Vintage 2024.

Questions people ask

How far is Chicago from Rockford?

76.5 miles, 123.1 km or 66.5 nautical miles along the great circle between the two Census internal points. Road distance is longer.

Which direction is Rockford from Chicago?

WNW. The great-circle path leaves Chicago on a bearing of 292.9° and arrives at Rockford on 292.0°. The return trip starts on 112.0°.

What is halfway between Chicago and Rockford?

The midpoint is at 42.050212, -88.371909. The nearest incorporated place of 1,000+ is Elgin, IL, 2.5 miles from it.

Is there a time difference between Chicago and Rockford?

Both use America/Chicago, so there is no time difference.

Which is bigger, Chicago or Rockford?

Chicago, with 2,721,308 residents in July 2024 against 147,486 for Rockford, 18.5 times as many.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and Vintage 2024 estimates; time zones from Open-Meteo.

  1. 01Census 2024 Gazetteer, places
  2. 02Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  3. 03SunCalc library (Vladimir Agafonkin), algorithms after Jean Meeus
  4. 04IANA time zone database (clock times and daylight saving rules)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.