Rockford, Illinois has 5 accredited schools offering software engineering programs, with tuition ranging from $52,386 to $68,164 per year for indexed programs. Rockford has a population of about 147,649. Median household income is $53,328 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 23.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Rockford, IL metro area, the top-earning software engineering-related role is Computer and Information Systems Managers at a median $146,600 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Software Engineering Schools to Rockford
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer software engineering programs near Rockford, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Rockford city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Rockford.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
42%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$39,080
Avg net price
$19,854/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Illinois schools on the Illinois software engineering page.
Software Engineering Wages Near Rockford
Rockford is part of the Rockford, IL metro area (BLS area code 40420). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Illinois statewide.
| Occupation |
Median Wage |
Source |
COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
| Software Developers |
$107,640 |
Rockford, IL |
$116,746 |
| Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers |
$96,020 |
Rockford, IL |
$104,143 |
| Computer Programmers |
$72,540 |
IL statewide |
$78,677 |
| Web Developers |
$84,820 |
IL statewide |
$91,996 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers |
$146,600 |
Rockford, IL |
$159,002 |
| Computer Occupations, All Other |
$84,190 |
Rockford, IL |
$91,312 |
| Computer Network Architects |
$97,540 |
Rockford, IL |
$105,792 |
| Computer Systems Analysts |
$95,430 |
Rockford, IL |
$103,503 |
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Rockford at a Glance
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Population |
147,649 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income |
$53,328 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ |
23.2% |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) |
92.2 (below U.S. average) |
BEA RPP 2024 |
Other Rockford-Area Cities With Software Engineering Programs
- Loves Park, IL – 6.3 mi away (23,413 pop)
- Machesney Park, IL – 7.7 mi away (22,873 pop)
- Belvidere, IL – 10.2 mi away (25,070 pop)
- Beloit, WI – 18.4 mi away (63,470 pop)
- DeKalb, IL – 28.0 mi away (67,501 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited software engineering schools are near Rockford, IL?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering software engineering programs near Rockford. The closest is Rasmussen University-Illinois in Rockford, IL (3.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Illinois Institute of Technology (79.5 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying software engineering roles near Rockford?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying software engineering-related roles near Rockford are: Computer and Information Systems Managers ($146,600), Software Developers ($107,640), Computer Network Architects ($97,540). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Illinois statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Loves Park instead of Rockford?
Loves Park, IL is 6.3 miles from Rockford and has its own set of local software engineering programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Rockford an affordable place to study software engineering?
Rockford’s median household income of $53,328 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Rockford while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Illinois public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Learn More About Software Engineering Programs
Other Programs Available in Rockford
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Rockford:
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Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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