Rock Island, IL — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Illinois·Rock Island

Rock Island County · Davenport-Moline-Rock Island · population 36,434

Affordability
Rock Island, IL
Image: Wikipedia · Rock Island, Illinois
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
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57
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Rock Island stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $127,878
1-year +1.0%
5-yr CAGR +3.1%
vs 5-yr peak -1.0%
Population -0.5%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2026-02$128k$80k$98k$116k$134k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
74/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,090/mo$860$1,022$1,18320242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent10811210020242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 9.8
Buy

At a 9.8 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Rock Island on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 9.8 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
55 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
54 · w22%
Distance from peak
84 · w18%
Population growth
38 · w16%
Rent YoY
61 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
50 · w10%
Long thesis

Rock Island offers a $127,878 median home with +3.1% annualized 5-year appreciation. Affordability + positive trend is one of the better risk/reward setups in US residential — small downside, room to compound.

Short thesis

Rock Island's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Rock Island

Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, with an estimated population of 36,434. It anchors the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area. The median home value in Rock Island is $127,878 as of 2026-04, up 1.0% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.1% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Rock Island average $1,090 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+2.3%). The composite momentum score is 57 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Held the highs: currently -1.0% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
●Cheap entry point: $127,878 median home is well below the US median of $355k — room to grow without overpaying.

▼ Bear case

●Flat or shrinking population: -0.5% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.
○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Rock Island (Wikipedia)

Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock and Mississippi rivers, it is one of the Quad Cities along with neighboring Moline and East Moline in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities metropolitan area had a population of 384,324 in 2020.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Rock Island County right now.

NWS active alerts (IL)Illinois Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Rock Island County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Rock Island

Macomb, IL53 · StableDolton, IL60 · StableCountry Club Hills, IL60 · StableHerrin, IL56 · Stable

Run the numbers for Rock Island

ToolCan I afford Rock Island?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Rock Island rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Rock Island to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolRock Island cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
33° / 18°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
85° / 64°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
189
~52% of year
Annual precip
38″ rain
22″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
High
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
Low
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Rock Island listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
71%
Humid climate
Median household income
$78,400
Illinois state median
Top industries (state-level)
FinanceManufacturingHealthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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