Rockford is a city in Floyd County,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, United States, at the confluence of the Shell Rock and Winnebago rivers. The population was 758 at the time of the 2020 census.

Geography

Rockford's longitude and latitude coordinates
in decimal form are 43.052833, -92.949203. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 860 people, 374 households, and 235 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 417 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.1%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 0.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.1% of the population. There were 374 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.2% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the city was 39.8 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24% were from 25 to 44; 24.8% were from 45 to 64; and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 907 people, 380 households, and 248 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 417 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.57%

, 0.33%

, 0.11% Native American, and 0.99% from two or more races.

of any race were 0.33% of the population. There were 380 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were

living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.94. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,143, and the median income for a family was $40,875. Males had a median income of $30,288 versus $20,417 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $15,455. About 8.0% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 23.3% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The

Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School District Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School District (RRMR) is a rural public school district headquartered in Rockford, Iowa. It operates the RRMR Elementary School/Preschool and RRMR Junior-Senior High School, both in Rockford. The district is ...

operates area public schools.

Geology

Rockford is in close proximity to a world-class fossil collecting locale. The Floyd County Fossil and Prairie Park Center is a nature center located just west of Rockford. Originally a clay pit for the now-defunct Rockford Brick and Tile Company, the Floyd County acquired the property in 1990 and it is currently open to the public as a County Park. A great number of fossil marine species are present within the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

strata of the Park, but the abundance of

brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, w ...

s is noteworthy. What makes this location special is that the calcareous ocean-bottom

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

that was deposited here never turned to hard stone as it does almost everywhere else in the region. This allows the fossils to weather out as discrete, often complete museum-grade specimens. Also, this is one of the few geological preserves in the United States where admission is free and collecting fossils for private use is allowed.

Notable people

Jeremy Davies Jeremy Davies (né Boring; born October 8, 1969) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Ray Aibelli in ''Spanking the Monkey'' (1994), Corporal Upham in ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), Snow in ''Solaris'' (2002), Bil ...

, actor * Jon Tumilson, fallen Navy Seal *

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

(1876–1932) and

August Duesenberg August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

(1879–1955), automobile manufacturers *

Robert James Waller Robert James Waller (August 1, 1939 – March 10, 2017) was an American author best known for '' The Bridges of Madison County'', an enormously successful book in 1993. He was also a photographer and musician. Life Robert James Waller Jr. was ...

(1939–2017) Dean of the School of Business at

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...

, author and photographer most notably the book ''

The Bridges of Madison County ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (also published as ''Love in Black and White'') is a 1992 best-selling romance novel by American writer Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married Italian-American woman (WWII war bride) living on a ...

References

External links

Rockford city websiteRockford Public Library websiteInformation on Rockford Fossil and Prairie Center
Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Rockford
{{authority control Cities in Floyd County, Iowa Cities in Iowa