| Loves Park | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Motto: | The City with a Heart |
| Mapsize: | 260px |
| Image Map1: | Illinois in United States (US48).svg |
| Map Caption1: | Location of Illinois in the United States |
| Coordinates: | 42.3261°N -89.0258°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Illinois |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Winnebago - Boone |
| Subdivision Type3: | Township |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Title1: | Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Greg Jury[1] |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 16.85 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 16.32 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.53 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [3] |
| Elevation Ft: | 728 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 23397 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1433.20 |
| Timezone1: | CST |
| Utc Offset1: | -6 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | -5 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Code(s) |
| Postal Code: | 61131, 61132, 61111, 61130 |
| Area Codes: | 779/815 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 17-45031 |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Wikimedia Commons |
| Blank2 Info Sec2: | Category:Loves Park, Illinois |
| Website: | https://cityoflovespark.com/ |
| Area Total Km2: | 43.65 |
| Area Land Km2: | 42.28 |
| Area Water Km2: | 1.37 |
| Population Density Km2: | 553.35 |
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 Statistical 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 .[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]
Loves Park is located at 42.3261°N -89.0258°W (42.326227, -89.025739).[7]
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Loves Park has a total area of 16.85sqmi, of which 16.33sqmi (or 96.86%) is land and 0.53sqmi (or 3.14%) is water.[8]
As of the 2020 census[9] there were 23,397 people, 9,608 households, and 6,138 families residing in the city. The population density was 1388.22PD/sqmi. There were 10,640 housing units at an average density of 631.3/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 79.42% White, 5.48% African American, 0.30% Native American, 3.59% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.92% from other races, and 8.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.89% of the population.
There were 9,608 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.69% were married couples living together, 15.02% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.12% were non-families. 29.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.39% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 2.41.
The city's age distribution consisted of 21.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
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.
RMTD provides bus service on Routes 16, 17, 18, 20 and 22 connecting Loves Park to downtown Rockford and other destinations.[10]