GREATER ROCHESTER, NY

Rochester has best private country club in US


Rochester Named One of the Most Innovation-Intensive Metro Areas
The New Republic reports Rochester, NY is one of the most innovation-intensive metro areas in the country, along with Boston, Minneapolis, San Diego, and San Jose. This ranking is based on per capita patent applications. (source: Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, March 2012)

Rochester One of Top Fifty Bike-Friendly Cities


Finger Lakes Among Top Places to Visit in U.S.
Business Insider says the Finger Lakes is #16 among "50 trips you have to take in the U.S." Visitors are encouraged to taste wines and explore vineyards in the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York. (March 2013)

Finger Lakes Wine Country is a Top Food Trend
The Today Show names the Finger Lakes Wine Country as a Top Food Trend for 2012, stating 2012 is the year wines in America outside of California will be a part of the national conversation and gain more acclaim. (Jan 2012)

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.

One of America's Most Innovative Cities
Forbes recently ranked Rochester, NY one of America's most innovative cities. (June 2010)

The Scientist magazine gives University of Rochester top marks
The Scientist magazine has named the University of Rochester the 22nd best place in the world for scientists to work in the life sciences. Rochester received high marks in the categories of job satisfaction, and management and policies. (The Scientist, August 2012)

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)

5th Best Friday Afternoon Commute
Rochester has the 5th best Friday afternoon commute in the country. (Governing Magazine, July 2012)

Rochester is the #1 Most Livable Bargain Market
MSN rated Rochester, NY the #1 most livable bargain market in the US. "Rochester provides a lot of bang for your buck. It has big-city culture, a highly educated population, picturesque scenery, affordable housing and an expanding high-tech job base." (July 2011)

Rochester's Health Care is Among the Best in the Country
Rochester's health care costs are among the lowest in the country. Commercial insurance costs are 30% below the national average.

Business Facilities Gives Rochester, NY High Ranking
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)

Rochester Among "Most Inventive Cities"
Rochester is ranked 12th among the "Most Inventive Cities" in the U.S. based on patents per capita. We outrank cities such as San Diego, Austin, and Durham. (The Daily Beast, 2011)

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)

U.S. News & World Report Ranks 6 Rochester Schools Among the Best
Six Greater Rochester Region schools appear on U.S. News and World Report's rankings of top regional and national universities: U of R (25th overall), RIT (7th Best Universities Master's), SUNY Brockport (57th, Master's Universities in Northern Region), Nazareth College (26th Best Regional Universities in Northern Region), SUNY Geneseo (8th, Up and Coming Regional University in Rochester Region), St. John Fisher College (143 on national list). (September 2011)

One of the Safest Weather Cities in the US
The Weather Channel examined a number of weather statistics and named Rochester, NY one of the safest weather cities in the U.S. (August 2012)

"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.

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)

Brookings Institute ranks Rochester Among Top Metros for Patents
Greater Rochester ranks 13th among metropolitan regions for the number of patents issued per million residents, with the largest subcategory of patents granted for optics research. 

Top 5 for patents per capita


Rochester Homes 31% More Afforable


Genesee County Ranked Fourth Best Food Processing Region
Genesee County was ranked fourth best food processing region in the country, based on metropolitan food processing industry growth. (Business Facilities Magazine, August 2012)

Rochester is the Best Place to Buy a Home
The Rochester Region is the best place in the US to purchase a home, according to Forbes.com and Zillow. This top ranking is based on several factors including sffordability; the unemployment rate; Rochester's minuscule foreclosure rate; and year-over-year housing price trends. (May 2011)

14th in the US for "near universal" health care


One of the Best College Towns in the Nation
Rochester is the 8th best midsize metro college town in the nation. (American Institute for Economic Research, 2010-2011 College Destination Index)

Brookings Institution Ranks Rochester among best metro economies in world
Brookings Institution ranks Rochester the 46th best metro economy in the world and 3rd best in the U.S., trailing only Houston and Dallas and outperforming areas such as New York City, Boston and Washington. This ranking is based on 2010-2011 growth rates for employment, income and output of goods and services. (Jan 2012)

Fast Company Names Rochester a Hotbed of American Innovation
Fast Company named Rochester one of the Ten Underrated Hotbeds of American Innovation. (August 2012)

SUNY Geneseo one of the "Best Value" public colleges in US
Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine ranks SUNY Geneseo 2nd in nation in "Best Value" among public colleges for out-of-state students; 7th for in-state students. (January 2011)

Best City for Commuters
Kiplinger names Rochester the "Best City in the U.S. for Commuters." This ranking was based on our community's low congestion cost (a measurement of wasted time and fuel calculated by the Texas Transportation Institute) along with average length of commute, local gas prices, yearly delays per commuter, and public transit use. (March 2011)

Rochester one of five markets to watch in 2012
Trulia.com names Rochester, NY one of the "5 Real Estate Markets to Watch in 2012." (Jan 2012)

Strong Museum top 10 ranking
The Strong is ranked as one of the top 10 Children's Museums in the nation by Child Magazine.   It is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame.

Finger Lakes Riesling Wines Among the Best in the World


Rochester one of 35 Innovation Hubs in the Country
Atlantic magazine lists Rochester as one of the 35 innovation hubs in the country based on the number of new start-up companies, accepted patents, and number of entrepreneurs per million people.

We are one of only six cities in the U.S. to have multiple research centers, including University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology. (October 2011)

Rochester is one of America's Brainiest Cities
Richard Florida of The Atlantic Cities ranked Rochester, NY the 13th Brainiest City in America based on factors such as "cognitive capacity" of our workforce, educational attainment levels, and percentage of workforce classified as knowledge workers. (Source: The Atlantic Cities, June 2012)

11 Rochester Area High Schools Rank Among Top 3% in US
Newsweek and The Daily Beast annually highlight the top 1,000 public high schools in the U.S. and 11 Greater Rochester high schools consistently make the list. Pittsford Sutherland (61) and Pittsford Mendon (89) stand out in the top 100, flanked by Brighton, Greece Odyssey, Victor, Webster Thomas, Webster Schroeder, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Penfield, Irondequoit, and Canandaigua. (source: Newsweek and The Daily Beast, May 2012)

32nd Best City in the U.S.
BloombergBusinessweek ranked Rochester the 32nd Best City in the U.S. (September 2012)

Businessweek Names Rochester One of the Top 20 Best Places to Start Over
The diversity of our economy as well as the strength of our colleges and universities are some of the reasons Businessweek selected Rochester as one of the Top 20 Best Places to Start Over in 2010. (Nov 2010)

Greater Rochester Ranked First in Job Growth by Business Facilities Magazine
Greater Rochester ranked first in job growth by Business Facilities Magazine, a leading trade publication targeted at site selectors. The list measures job growth in mid-sized metropolitan statistical areas. (July 2011)

U of R's Simon School of Business Delivers on Investment
Bloomberg Businessweek ranks U of R's Simon School of Business the top private U.S. business school for return on investment. (January 2011)

Kiplinger named Rochester 5th Best City for Families
Top-ranked public and private schools, a good economy, and strong employment growth are some of the reasons Kiplinger named Rochester the 5th Best City for Families. (July 2012)

Rochester Ranked Among Smartest Cities in America
The Daily Beast ranked Rochester one of the top 10 smartest cities in America.  This ranking is based on the education attainment levels of our workforce as well as our intellectual environment. It underscores the fact that a highly-skilled and educated workforce is a key to long term economic success.  (October 2010)

Rochester Tops for Volunteerism


Rochester is America's 4th Most Affordable City
According to Forbes, your take-home pay will go farther in Rochester. Our community's diversified economy and history of sustained low costs make it America's 4th Most Affordable City. (Forbes, November 2010)

Rochester Named One of the 10 Best Golf Cities in America
Golf Magazine and the National Golf Foundation 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."