Demographic statistics below rely on the United States Census Bureau's decennial counts.
Racial and ethnic composition 2020 census As of the
2020 census, Rockdale had a population of 5,323, 2,137 households, and 1,154 families. The median age was 38.2 years, with 25.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 18.4% of residents 65 or older; for every 100 females there were 90.7 males and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 84.8 males age 18 and over. 96.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.5% lived in rural areas. There were 2,137 households in Rockdale, of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.0% were married-couple households, 18.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 2,519 housing units, of which 15.2% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 17.5%.
2000 census As of the 2000
census, 5,595 people, 2,088 households, and 1,395 families were residing in the city. The population density was . The 2,379 housing units averaged 759.2 per square mile (293.5/km). The
racial makeup of the city was 70.69% White, 14.29% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 12.23% from other races, and 2.02% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 21.93% of the population. Of the 2,077 households, 33.1% had children under 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were not families. About 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55, and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the age distribution was 28.5% under 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $34,612, and for a family was $39,491. Males had a median income of $30,758 versus $20,692 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $17,618. About 13.2% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over. ==Economy==