The Greater Rochester, NY Region is a history-rich Erie Canal boomtown that today ranks among the top knowledge-based economic regions in the world. We're proud of the various honors Rochester has received for our business environment and exceptional quality of life.
Business
Business Facilities Gives Rochester, NY High Ranking
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Business Facilities chose Rochester as one of the top places in the country to do business because of our alternative energy leadership and top-ranked Intellectual Density Quotient (IDQ). IDQ measures a region's potential for productivity and sustainable economic prosperity. (June 2010)
One of America's Most Innovative Cities
• Forbes recently ranked Rochester, NY one of America's most innovative cities. (June 2010)
Click here to see more information.
Forbes Magazine ranks Rochester the 7th Fastest Recovering City
• Diversified industry and relatively stable housing give Rochesterians a measure of economic security. (Dec 2009)
Rochester Named One of the Strongest Job Markets in US
• Bloomberg Businessweek recognized Rochester as the 15th strongest job market in the country. (June 2010)
Brookings Institute deemed Rochester 18th strongest-performing metro area
• Brookings Institute recognized Rochester as the 18th strongest performing city for keeping labor and housing markets stables and posting strong economic activity over the last few years. (June 2010)
Forbes Magazine Ranks Rochester one of the 100 Best Bang for the Buck Cities
• A solid housing market, relatively stable employment, enviable cost of living and quick commutes make the Rochester Region among the country's most affordable to live. (Dec 2009)
Abundance of Fresh Water
• 7% of the world's fresh water supply is right here in the Greater Rochester, NY Region. This plentiful and inexpensive supply of water makes the Rochester Region an attractive business location.
"World Knowledge Competitiveness"
• Ranked 9th for "World Knowledge Competitiveness."
World Knowledge Competitiveness Index 2005, Robert Huggins Associates
Rochester Ranked 20th on Strongest Economies List
• Based on data from the Brookings Institution's new MetroMonitor study, BusinessWeek ranked the 100 largest metros by job growth, employment, economic growth and home prices. (source October 2009)
Best Quality of Life Ranking
• The Rochester Region was ranked
#1 for Overall Quality of Life among metros with a population of more than 1 million. Source: Expansion Management, May/June 2007
Technology
Ranked 1st for Utility Patents Issued
• Ranked 1st for Utility Patents Issued to Companies or Individuals per 1,000 Workers. Rochester boasts 2.33 patents per 1,000 workers - the U.S. average is only 0.40 patents per 1,000 workers.
Metropolitan New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transformation in the Nation's Metropolitan Area, 2001
Ranked 1st among 125 for Patent Registration
• Ranked 1st among 125 world regions for Patent Registration.
World Knowledge Competitiveness Index 2003-2004: Benchmarking the Globe's Leading Knowledge Economy Regions, Robert Huggins Business and Economic Policy Press
One of the Top 20 Tech Cities in the U.S.
• Popular Science ranks Rochester 19th of 140 metropolitan areas in the magazine's "Top Tech cities" rankings.
Popular Science, March 2005
"Most Unwired Cities"
• Ranked 67th in Intel's
"Most Unwired Cities" survey that ranks the Top 100 U.S. cities and regions with the greatest wireless Internet accessibility.
Intel, 2005
"Overall Innovation Capacity"
• Ranked 5th for "Overall Innovation Capacity" upon the basis of 1. Jobs in high-tech industries 2. Degrees granted in science and engineering 3. Number of patents 4. Academic research and development funding 5. Venture capital invested.
Metropolitan New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transformation in the Nation's Metropolitan Areas, 2001
Education
Local High Schools Among Top 100 Best High Schools in America
• U.S. News published a list of America's Best High Schools and ranked Pittsford Mendon (#69) and Pittsford Sutherland (#84) out of 21,000 high schools. (Source: U.S. News, December 2009)
University of Rochester ranked 17th for total R&D expenditures
• University of Rochester reported $375 million in R&D expenditures, making it 17th on National Science Foundation's list of the top 20 private universities and colleges for FY 2008.
The Princeton Review Names RIT Among "The Best 373 Colleges"
• RIT is recognized as one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. (August 2010)
Home to Some of the Best Public High Schools in America
• Newsweek consistently ranks many of Rochester's public high schools among the best in the nation. Twelve of the Rochester Region's public high schools are ranked in the nation's top 5%.
Eastman School of Music ranks 1st
• Eastman School of Music ranks 1st in the nation for its graduate music programs "America's Best Colleges."
US News and Report, 2004
"Ranked #6 Nationally Among Large Sized Metros"
• "Rochester, NY, Metro Area Public Schools Ranked #6 Nationally Among Large Sized Metros."
Expansion Management, December 2007
William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration
• William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration is consistently ranked as a world leader among graduate business schools by Business Week, U.S. News & World Report.
The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Forbes
Living and Culture
Local Housing Market Tops for Affordability
• Rochester has the most affordable housing among the 52 major markets around the US. (source: Business First of Buffalo/US Census Bureau, April 2010)
Rochester Area Ranks 3rd for Raising A Family
• Forbes magazine ranked the Rochester area the third-best metropolitan region in the country for raising a family. This ranking is based on seven criteria: cost of living, prevalence of homeownership, median household income, housing costs, commute time, crime and high school graduation rates. The cost of living and short commute times in our region helped elevate Rochester's ranking. (June 2010)
Rochester Tops for Volunteerism
• Rochester ranks in the Top 10 in the nation for volunteer hours per resident. (source: Corporation for National & Community Service, 2009)
Finger Lakes Riesling Wines Among the Best in the World
• Finger Lakes Region ranked one of the Top Four Riesling Regions in the world. (by Culinary Institute of America's Karen MacNeil, summer 2010)
Named 6th most livable city in the U.S.
• "Rochester named 6th most livable city in the U.S."
Places Rated Almanac 2007
Rochester Homes 32.5% More Afforable
• At $112,200, the median home sales price is 32.5% more affordable than the national average. Approximately 88% of area homes are affordable for our region's median income. National Association of Realtors (Q1, 2010), NAHB Housing Opportunity Index (Q1, 2010)
Easy Commute Time -- Get Anywhere in 20 minutes
• Average daily commute time of 22.6 minutes - Monroe County, NY. US Census, 2008 American Community Survey
Best Quality of Life Ranking
• The Rochester Region was recently ranked #1 for Overall Quality of Life among metros with a population of more than 1 million.
Source: Expansion Management, May/June 2007
For women's health, Rochester area ranks 12th best
• The Rochester metro area is the 12th healthiest place for women among the 100 biggest metro areas nationwide, according to the December 2007 issue of Self magazine. This ranking is based on 52 categories of data including exercise and eating habits, rates of heart disease, depression and crime.
Rochester is one of the cleanest cities in America
• Reader's Digest recently rated Rochester as the 7th cleanest city in America.
Reader's Digest, July 2005
Rochester (Finger Lakes) 10 Best places to Vacation
• Rated as a Top 10 "Perfect Place," Money magazine states "Everywhere land meets water, vacation activities are plentiful."
Money Magazine, 2002
Top 50 cities in America
• Richard Florida's National Best Seller book titled, "The Rise of the Creative Class: and how it's transforming work, leisure, community and every day life" ranks the Top 50 cities in America where the most creative people live. Rochester ranked 4th in innovation, and earned an overall creative ranking of 25th.
Health
Rochester is One of the Healthiest Communities in America
• Rochester offers quality, low cost health care that is 15% less expensive than the national average.
"One of America's Best Hospitals in the Nation"
• Strong Memorial Hospital, consistently recognized in U.S. News and Reports as "One of America's Best Hospitals in the Nation," is widely known for its cardiac care. It operates the only heart transplant program in Western New York and is also nationally recognized for neurosurgery, urology, gynecology, cancer and pediatric specialties.
"Least Stressful City"
• Ranked 11th among 100 Metro Areas for "Least Stressful City". Sperling Stress Index criteria includes: unemployment rate, divorce rate, commute time, violent and property crime rates, suicide rate, alcohol consumption, self-reported "poor mental health", and number of cloudy days.
Sperlings's Best Places, 2004
"Healthiest City for Men"
• Ranked the 3rd "Healthiest City for Men" upon the basis of health, environment, and fitness.
Men's Health Magazine, 2003
Recreation
Finger Lakes Region Ranked First
• Rochester's Finger Lakes Region was named the top lakeside retreat in the world by the editors of Shermans Travel, outperforming contenders such as Lake Como in Italy and Lake Mead in Nevada.
The 11 Finger Lakes "are interspersed by pastoral landscapes of quaint waterfront villages and scenic vistas of gushing waterfalls and rocky gorges," the editors wrote of our region.
(Source: Shermans Travel, August 2009)
Rochester has best private country club in US
• Oak Hill Country Club named best private club in US, based on Golf World Magazine reader survey. (source: Golf World Magazine, September 2009)
Rochester One of Top Fifty Bike-Friendly Cities
• Bicycling Magazine recently named Rochester, NY one of America's Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities. (Spring 2010)
Rochester Named One of the 10 Best Golf Cities in America
• Golf Magazine and the National Golf Founction named Rochester, NY one of the 10 Best Golf Cities in America. The ranking is based on seven factors including affordability and number of quality courses as well as the weather. "You can play more gorgeous golf for less than in any other big American city."
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Strong Museum top 10 ranking
• The Strong Museum is ranked as one of the top 10 Children's Museums in the nation,
Child Magazine. It is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Best Minor League Sports Market In America
• Rochester, NY was rated the best minor league sports market in America by
Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, July 2005.