FBI UCR Homicide Data — 20 recorded incidents
Rockford has one of the highest homicide rates in Illinois outside Chicago, driven by the city's combination of industrial job loss, the opioid crisis, and a methamphetamine trade that has flooded the city's CRISP neighborhoods. The 2023 murder of a 14-year-old boy by an 18-year-old at a Rockford apartment complex put the city in the national spotlight for youth firearm violence. Illinois's permit-to-purchase law has been credited with reducing firearm homicides in some parts of the state, though Rockford's homicide unit has remained understaffed. FBI UCR data powers The Murder Channel's Rockford homicide tracker.
Rockford, Michigan has recorded 20 homicides over the tracked period, with 24 victims identified. Tracking continues through 2026. The city ranks #239 among 339 U.S. cities tracked by the FBI, with a clearance rate of 25% — meaning an arrest or suspect identification was made in 5 of those incidents.
The weapon mix skews toward firearm - handguns (roughly 30% of cases with weapon data), with knife/cutting instrument, firearm - type unknown, personal weapons (hands, fists, feet) as the next-most-frequent categories. The single deadliest month on record was July 2022, with 5 homicides logged.
Rockford's homicide rate is 78% below the average for tracked U.S. cities, based on FBI UCR data. 11 cases remain under investigation. Reporting is dominated by Rockford Police Department, which filed 20 incident reports. For broader statewide context, see our Michigan state homicide data page. The Rockford metropolitan area continues to be monitored as part of the national homicide tracking effort.