Rock Island is a standalone smaller Illinois market in the northwestern part of the state — its own local economy, not a satellite of a larger city. Major metro distances from Rock Island: Chicago 154 mi (east), Milwaukee 173 mi (northeast), St. Louis 200 mi (south). The Illinois state capital, Springfield, is 128 miles to the southeast of Rock Island. Rock Island is a smaller community than nearby Davenport, which means lower competitive density on local search queries.
Rock Island has a population of 38,877, ranking 46th of 52 covered Illinois cities and accounting for about 0.6% of their total population. At 154 miles from the nearest major metro (Chicago), Rock Island businesses mostly draw from a genuinely local search audience — meaning competitive pressure on commercial queries is far lower than in metro-adjacent markets. Rock Island County also includes our covered cities of Moline, giving multi-location programs across the county a natural hub.
Nearby covered cities include Davenport (102,157), Moline (43,116), Iowa City (71,591) — some of which are larger than Rock Island's 38,877 residents, meaning lower competitive density for Rock Island-specific queries. Within Rock Island County, we also cover Moline (43,116 residents). The Chicago–Milwaukee corridor (154 mi to 173 mi from Rock Island) represents the competitive metro backdrop that shapes what Rock Island businesses need to rank for.
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