Loves Park, Illinois

Loves Park
City
Flag Seal
Motto:  The City with a Heart
Location of Loves Park in Boone County & Winnebago County, Illinois.
Coordinates: 42°19′55″N 89°00′48″W / 42.33194°N 89.01333°W / 42.33194; -89.01333[3]
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Winnebago - Boone
Government
• Mayor	Greg Jury[1]
Area [2]
• Total	16.85 sq mi (43.65 km2)
• Land	16.32 sq mi (42.28 km2)
• Water	0.53 sq mi (1.37 km2)
Elevation [3]	853 ft (260 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	23,397
• Density	1,433.2/sq mi (553.35/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	61131, 61132, 61111, 61130
Area codes	779/815
FIPS code	17-45031
GNIS feature ID	2395774[3]
Website	https://cityoflovespark.com/

Loves Park is a city in Boone and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Most of the city is in Winnebago County, with a tiny sliver in the east located in Boone County. The population was 23,397 at the 2020 census.

Loves Park is part of the Rockford metropolitan area.

Malcolm Love, an industrialist in Rockford, Illinois, purchased 236 acres of land in this area in 1901 and set up a gathering place that came to be known as Love's Park. The city of Loves Park was incorporated in 1947.^[4] When the city's economy was negatively affected by the early 1980s recession, City Hall was moved from the Grand Avenue fire station into the Marshall Middle School to save money.^[5] In 2001, Danfoss moved their plant from Rockford to Loves Park, becoming one of the town's largest employers.^[6]

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Loves Park has a total area of 16.85 square miles (43.64 km²), of which 16.33 square miles (42.29 km²) (or 96.86%) is land and 0.53 square miles (1.37 km²) (or 3.14%) is water.^[7]

As of the 2020 census, Loves Park had a population of 23,397 and 6,138 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,388.22 inhabitants per square mile (535.99/km²).^[10]

The median age was 40.8 years; 20.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.9% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males age 18 and over.^[10]

99.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.3% lived in rural areas.^[11]

There were 10,146 households in Loves Park, of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.8% were married-couple households, 20.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[10]

There were 10,640 housing units at an average density of 631.30 per square mile (243.75/km²), of which 4.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%.^[10]

The median income for a household in the city was $57,096, and the median income for a family was $66,914. Males had a median income of $49,182 versus $28,021 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,504. About 9.9% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.9% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Rockford Mass Transit District (RMTD) provides bus service on Routes 16, 17, 18, 20 and 22 connecting Loves Park to downtown Rockford and other destinations.^[13]

The portion in Winnebago County is mostly in the Harlem Unit School District 122, with portions to the east in the Rockford School District 205.^[14] The portion in Boone County is almost entirely in the Belvidere Consolidated Unit School District 100, with a piece extending into the Rockford School District.^[15]

• Dick Kulpa, cartoonist
• Robin Zander, lead singer of the rock band Cheap Trick.

• City of Loves Park official website