Winnebago County Upward Mobility
Upward Mobility, also referred to as Economic Mobility, refers to the ability of an individual, family, or group to improve their social or economic status within a society. It often means moving from a lower to a higher social class, income bracket, or level of education and occupation.
In 2024, Bridges to Prosperity Northern Illinois initiated a comprehensive planning process aimed at increasing upward mobility from poverty and addressing racial inequities in our region. This initiative was grounded in data and best practices from the Urban Institute’s Boosting Upward Mobility from Poverty and Advancing Equity project, which helped us identify key disparities and systemic barriers that hinder economic advancement, particularly among communities of color.
Through strong collaboration with nonprofit organizations, businesses, philanthropic partners, anchor institutions, and faith-based leaders, we have developed an Upward Mobility Action Plan to drive systems-level change.
A core component of this planning phase was the formation of a Mobility Coalition, comprised of 20 community leaders, who engaged in this planning process for 18 months. This cross-sector group met with both community stakeholders and individuals with lived experience of poverty to identify the highest-impact strategies for increasing upward mobility and was tasked with identifying actionable strategies to promote upward mobility and reduce poverty in Winnebago County.
Data that has helped to inform our process includes the following:
Upward Mobility Data Dashboard
City of Rockford & Winnebago County Metrics
The Upward Mobility Data Dashboard helps people understand key conditions affecting upward mobility from poverty and racial equity in communities. The dashboard provides Mobility Metrics data for 24 predictors. The predictors are indicators that are strongly associated with upward mobility, according to the Upward Mobility Framework’s three-part definition of the term that encompasses long-term economic success, dignity and belonging, and power and autonomy. The predictors fall within one of five pillars, which represent supports people need from their communities to achieve upward mobility.
Distressed Communities Index
City of Rockford Data
Running the data for each zip code in Rockford, Illinois, allowed us to see how it ranks on the Distressed Communities Index. Out of the eight zip codes that comprise the city, four of them ranked as distressed, two were at risk, one was mid-tier, and one was comfortable. None ranked as prosperous. The four zip codes that ranked as distressed made up 44% of the overall population, while just 8% of the city’s population fell into the ranking of comfortable.
Running the data for each zip code in Winnebago County allowed us to see how it ranks on the Distressed Communities Index. Out of the 17 zip codes that comprise the County, four of them ranked as distressed, two are at risk, four are mid-tier, four are comfortable., and three are prosperous. The four zip codes that ranked as distressed made up 28% of the overall population, 20% are at-risk, 30% of the population are mid-tier, 10% are comfortable and 12% of the County’s population falls into the ranking of prosperous.
United Way ALICE Report
Winnebago County
In Winnebago County 26% of households are ALICE households, with another 14% of households in poverty. ALICE is an acronym for asset limited, income constrained, and employed, and it represents the growing number of families who are unable to afford the basics of housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care, and technology.
To learn about sponsoring our upcoming Upward Mobility Action Plan Release event, please click here.