SalaryExplorer

SOC 11-9072 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling — Rockford

Rockford, IL · 5 metro areas compared

$66,140 /year
$31.80per hour
80jobs in area
−16.8%vs US median

The median wage for Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling in Rockford, IL is $66,140 per year, 16.8% below the national median of $79,520.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $79,52010TH$44,60025TH$58,780MEDIAN$66,14075TH$83,66090TH$105,210

How pay has moved

$67,463$60,367202320242025$66,140
$61,690 in 2023 to $66,140 in 2025, +7.2% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow faster than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+7.7%
Openings per year
5,500
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
Related work experience
Less than 5 years

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

8.6% of people in this occupation work for themselves.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Rockford, IL.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling in Rockford, IL is $66,140 per year, 16.8% below the national median of $79,520. Half of workers earn between $58,780 and $83,660. Beyond that band, the tenth percentile sits at $44,600 and the ninetieth at $105,210.

The area has 80 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 0.6 of every thousand jobs. Within the state, Bloomington records the highest median at $86,300. Of the 329 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 116th.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Rockford, IL · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$44,600−43.9%
25th$58,780−26.1%
Median (50th)$66,140−16.8%
75th$83,660+5.2%
90th$105,210+32.3%
Mean$74,000−6.9%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Illinois

Median annual wage for Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Bloomington$86,30060
2Champaign$81,69060
3Chicago$80,5702,530
4Peoria$68,63080
5Springfield$64,52040

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Rockford run 7.8% below the national average, so the median of $66,140 goes as far as $71,735 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 9.8% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$66,140as reported by BLS

Local price level

92.2US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$71,735US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $66,140 a year, 16.8% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $44,600 to $105,210 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 80 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Bloomington, at $86,300.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling in Rockford, IL?

The median annual wage is $66,140, or $31.80 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $79,520, so pay in Rockford, IL is 16.8% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Rockford, IL earns more than $105,210 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $44,600 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Bloomington, at $86,300 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 80 jobs in this occupation in Rockford, IL. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.

Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling Salary in Rockford, IL (2025): $66,140 Median | Salary Explorer