Living Here
The Greater Rochester, NY region balances vibrant, big city culture and amenities with a small town’s connectivity, comfort, and ease. Put together; they create pathways to prosperity for all.
Photo by Sheridan Vincent
Why Moving to Rochester, NY is the Real Deal
45%
More Affordable Housing Than National Average
You’ll feel right at home in the Greater Rochester, NY region. With median home sale prices averaging $212,400, Rochester is a great place to settle down and raise a family. Learn more about our residential real estate.
Top 10%
In Public Education in the United States
Some of the best high schools in the country can be found here in Rochester, NY. With 9 of our local high schools ranking in the top 10% in the United States, your family will receive an education that’s second to none.
#9
9th Best Place to Live in the U.S. for Quality of Life
According to U.S. News & World Report, Rochester is the 9th Best Place to Live in the U.S. for Quality of Life. Rochester’s people and welcoming community contributed to this ranking.
Have it All in the Greater Rochester, NY Region
Thinking about moving to Rochester and curious to know what you would save?
Photo by Gene Avallone, Park Avenue Photography
Picture a city with miles of lakeshore, a riverfront sprinkled with waterfalls, and a historic canal that flows through the heart of small-town Americana. Now, imagine that same city surrounded by world-class wine country, glacier-carved lakes, and one of the largest collections of cobblestone homes in the United States. Rochester, NY is a history-rich Erie Canal boomtown complimented by sources like Kiplinger, Fortune, and CNN Money on everything from being insanely brainy to having an incomparable commute. Residents in the Greater Rochester, NY region get to experience the best of both worlds: the culture of a big city with all the comforts of a small town.
Rochester, NY was not only named Kiplinger’s Best City in the U.S. for Commuters, it was also named CNN Money’s 2nd least stressed out city, which is in part because of the short commutes and low cost of living.
Photo by Don Race
Relevant Documents
Why people love living in the Greater Rochester, NY region
LIVING HERE
Explore the Greater Rochester, NY Region
Photo credits J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester
Once people get here and their families get used to short commute times, low home prices, the fact that we have all kinds of recreational sporting activities, the quality of schools, they don’t want to leave.
Arunas Chesonis
CEO and Chairman, Sweetwater Energy
You know your business.
We know Greater Rochester.
Let’s team up.
Photo by John Kucko
Thank You To Our Investors
High tech companies know Rochester as the optics mecca in the United States.
Matt Sydor
Vice President, Sales and Compliance, Sydor Optics
At Toyota Material Handling North America, which is comprised of two main group companies – Toyota Material Handling and The Raymond Corporation – we are committed to leading the way in energy innovation. We believe that the Greater Rochester, NY region shares that commitment, and is the ideal location to establish our cutting-edge energy storage and fuel cell development center.”
Jennifer Lupo
Vice President of Energy Solutions, Supply Chain, and Leasing, The Raymond Corporation
Rochester has a great work base. They’re loyal. They’re smart. They’re well educated and they want to succeed.
Jim Continenza
Executive Chairman and CEO, Eastman Kodak
We keep and maintain and are investing specifically in Rochester because that is where the talent is. We don’t succeed without the right talent.
David Velasquez
Vice President and General Manager, Corning Incorporated
Rochester has the manufacturing capability, testing capability, and intellectual horsepower.
Matt Fronk
Past Chairman, NY BEST
Rochester has a deep talent pool around all of the things that we need to do to commercialize advanced materials for the energy economy.
Ben Britton
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Ionomr
The decision to expand locally was a relatively easy one for CooperVision. The Rochester area has provided so many of the elements necessary for a successful operation.
Jerry Warner
President, CooperVision
The proximity to top colleges and industry-leading companies, in addition to the quality of life in Western New York, made the decision to open our second office in Rochester an easy one.
Mike Pinch
Director, Security Risk Advisors
“Rochester is world famous for precision optics manufacturing and photonics.”
Jennifer Cable
President, Thorlabs
We have a long history of people skilled in aerospace technology and precision optical assembly. We take advantage of the industrial base in the Rochester area. We also take advantage of the skill sets developed by our local technical institutions like MCC, RIT, or the University of Rochester.”
Tony Whitman
Cryogenic Optical Test Director for James Webb Space Telescope, L3 Harris
We have inherited an exceptional quality of life thanks to an impressive cluster of cultural organizations, unparalleled natural resources, and a resilient and welcoming spirit of community.
David Munson
President, Rochester Insititute of Technology
Once people get here and their families get used to short commute times, low home prices, the fact we have all kinds of recreational sporting activities, the quality of schools, they don’t want to leave.
Arunas Chesonis
CEO and Chairman, Sweetwater Energy
Rochester has provided ID Signsystems with the ability to grow and develop by tapping into the region’s large pool of design-focused talent, technicians, engineers and sign makers.
Paul Dudley
President, ID Signsystems
Our network of local universities, colleges, and optics companies has created a workforce pipeline that is unmatched anywhere in the United States.
Joseph Spilman
President, Optimax
GRE’s direction and guidance proved to be well worth our investment. Their passion to make the business environment in the Rochester area greater is very apparent.
Scott MacCaull
Workplace Interiors
There is unlimited, untapped technical talent in the area and I hope we start a wave of other companies moving to Rochester.
Austin McChord
Founder, Datto
Rochester has a long history of being a hub for telecommunications. There is a rich ecosystem of talent and services to support business growth.
Jai Ramachandran
Founder and CEO, Wire3
Rochester is the perfect size city to get business done. I’m always one connection away from anything I’m looking for.
Zack Phillips
President, Kink BMX
We have access to talent graduating from our businesses and technical institutions capable of perpetuating our success for years to come.
Marc Iacona
President & CEO, Simcona Electronics
The Rochester region provided convenient access to both railroads and major highways, as well as proximity to Barilla’s customer base in the Northeast.
Fabio Pettenati
Vice President of Supply Chain, Barilla America
We’re excited about this area. There’s high-quality milk in the region. There’s a lot of top talent. The industry, the innovation, the technical experience , the work ethic is all attractive to us.
Phil LaMothe
Vice President of Manufacturing, fairlife
The country is starting to recognize Rochester as a technical city outside of just software. We have optics and manufacturing that’s exceeding most of the baselines around the country.
Craig Lamb
Co-owner, Envative
Rochester has the resources optics companies need to transform their concepts into reality.
Dr. Duncan T. Moore
Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship and Professor of Optical Engineering
Rochester has a great base of intellectual capital in the science and technology fields at local businesses and universities.
Daniel J. Burns
Area Executive for Upstate NY, Western NY, and Pennsylvania, M&T Bank Corporation
We’ve developed vaccines to prevent cervical cancer right here in Rochester.
Peter Robinson
Vice President and COO, University of Rochester Medical Center
Among many great options, none could match Rochester in terms of talent, local supplier networks, and opportunities to partner with top-tier research institutions.
Andy Marsh
CEO, Plug Power