Regional Stats
Zoom in on all the Greater Rochester, NY region has to offer.
Photo by Kurt Brownell
Highly Skilled Workforce. Short Commutes.
Better Quality of Life.
The Greater Rochester NY, region has it all. With more than 1.2 million people within a nine-county region, the population, workforce, average commute time and median housing value illustrate that our region punches way above its weight class. Data for each of our nine counties is outlined here.
Greater Rochester, NY by the Numbers
| COUNTY | POPULATION | WORKFORCE | AVERAGE COMMUTE TIME | MEDIAN HOUSING VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genesee | 57,841 | 32,556 | 23.4 minutes | $148,600 |
| Livingston | 61,830 | 31,093 | 24.6 minutes | $159,900 |
| Monroe | 756,028 | 407,798 | 19.9 minutes | $182,700 |
| Ontario | 113,305 | 62,055 | 22.9 minutes | $192,800 |
| Orleans | 39,523 | 18,183 | 26.7 minutes | $122,200 |
| Seneca | 33,052 | 15,617 | 21.2 minutes | $132,000 |
| Wayne | 91,621 | 49,082 | 24.4 minutes | $134,800 |
| Wyoming | 39,862 | 19,504 | 24.9 minutes | $143,000 |
| Yates | 24,570 | 12,014 | 22.2 minutes | $159,800 |
| Rochester Region | 1,217,632 | 674,902 | 21.2 minutes | $155,500 |
Workforce and Population data are from Applied Geographic Solutions, 2024
Traveling Here is Easy
The Greater Rochester, NY Region is located within 500 miles of 1/3 of the U.S. and Canadian population. This puts us close to major markets like New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Toronto, without the major market costs of doing business.
Kiplinger named 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 the average length of commute, local gas prices, yearly delays per commuter, and public transit use.
The Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport averages 50 flights every day to 18 cities. Flights to cities such as Boston, New York, and Washington, DC are less than 1 ½ hours by air.
Approximate Driving Distance and Flight Time to Major Cities:
| MILEAGE | FLIGHT TIME | |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | 390 miles | 1 hour, 18 minutes |
| Cleveland | 250 miles | 1 hour, 15 minutes |
| New York | 330 miles | 1 hour, 30 minutes |
| Philadelphia | 340 miles | 1 hour, 11 minutes |
| Toronto | 150 miles | 51 minutes |
| Washington, DC | 330 miles | 1 hour, 15 minutes |
Rochester is also accessible by rail. The region has more than 60 weekly Amtrak passenger rail departures from downtown. For commercial needs, Rochester has three Class 1 carriers: CSX, Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific. The routes handle up to 60 trains per day.
LIVING HERE
Explore the Greater Rochester, NY Region
Photo credits for Education and Quality of Life by J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester. Photo cerdit for Real Estate by Major Diehl.
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
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
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 home to some of the finest optics companies in the nation, almost all of which OptiPro does business with.
Mike Bechtold
President, OptiPro
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
The work we’ve done and the momentum we’ve generated as a business has been possible in large part because of the talent, knowledge and industriousness of our people in Rochester, NY.
Dave Fall
CEO, Brand Networks
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
Regional President, 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