Loves Park is a city in Boone and Winnebago counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Most of the city is in Winnebago County, with a tiny sliver in the east located in Boone County. The population was 23,397 at the 2020 census. Loves Park is part of the

Rockford metropolitan area The Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties in north-central Illinois, anchored by the city of Rockford. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 34 ...

History

Malcolm Love, an industrialist in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, purchased 236 acres of land in this area in 1901 and set up a gathering place that came to be known as Love's Park. The city of Loves Park was incorporated in . When the city's economy was negatively affected by the

early 1980s recession The early 1980s recession was a severe economic recession that affected much of the world between approximately the start of 1980 and 1982. Long-term effects of the early 1980s recession contributed to the Latin American debt crisis, long-lastin ...

, City Hall was moved from the Grand Avenue fire station into the Marshall Middle School to save money. In 2001,

Danfoss Danfoss is a Danish multinational company, based in Denmark, with more than 41,928 employees globally. Danfoss was founded in 1933 by engineer Mads Clausen. History Beginning (1933–1966) In 1933 Mads Clausen (1905–1966) founded ''D ...

moved their plant from Rockford to Loves Park, becoming one of the town's largest employers.

Geography

Loves Park is located at (42.326227, -89.025739). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Loves Park has a total area of , of which (or 96.86%) is land and (or 3.14%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 23,397 people, 9,608 households, and 6,138 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 10,640 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.42%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 5.48%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.30% Native American, 3.59% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.92% from other races, and 8.25% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 8.89% of the population. There were 9,608 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.69% were married couples living together, 15.02% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.12% were non-families. 29.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.39% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 2.41. The city's age distribution consisted of 21.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $57,096, and the median income for a family was $66,914. Males had a median income of $49,182 versus $28,021 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $31,504. About 9.9% of families and 14.7% 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 ...

, including 27.9% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

RMTD provides bus service on Routes 16, 17, 18, 20 and 22 connecting Loves Park to downtown Rockford and other destinations.

Notable people

* Dick Kulpa, cartoonist *

Robin Zander Robin Wayne Zander (born January 23, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick, but is also a solo artist. Zander was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a ...

, lead singer of the rock band

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

References

External links

City of Loves Park official website
{{authority control Cities in Winnebago County, Illinois Cities in Boone County, Illinois Cities in Illinois 1947 establishments in Illinois