IDQ

Rochester, NY has an exceptionally talented workforce. We have the highest Intellectual Density Quotient of any region in the country. This is where smart people live and smart businesses grow.

Intellectual Density Quotient – or IDQ -- is a measurement derived through a comparison of a region's population to its rankings in a core list of recognized standards of success and achievement, providing an assessment of a region's capacity for innovation, creativity, and problem solving. A high IDQ is an indication of a region's potential for productivity and sustainable economic health, and it helps perpetuate a pervasive and contagious culture of success.

IDQ is based on these factors:

Percentage of population age 18 and over enrolled in college or grad school
Percentage of population age 25 and older that have graduated from high school or received equivalency certificate
Patents issued per 1,000 people
Number of workers trained to excel in our knowledge based economy
Number of companies ranked among the best places to work in the country

It's not the size of the region that matters, but what it can accomplish. We pump out more patents per resident, and we have more brains trained to excel in this knowledge-based economy than communities three times our size.

Each market's IDQ is the sum of these factors: Number of #1 "Best Companies to Work For" rankings (per 1 million population), Number of Top 10 "Best Companies to Work For" rankings (per 1 million population), percentage population 25+ that has graduated from high school (including equivalency), percentage population 18+ enrolled in college or grad school, percentage population classified as knowledge workforce, and patents issued per 1,000 residents.

We included mean annual wages for comparison purposes to illustrate the high caliber of our workforce without the high cost associated with a major metropolitan area.

We produce more patents per 1,000 residents (1.07) than regions such as Raleigh, NC and Boston, MA
A greater percentage of our population is classified as knowledge workforce (26.0%) than Minneapolis, MN and a greater percentage of our population older than 25 has a high school degree (34.9%) than Austin, TX or San Jose, CA
And Rochester, NY is the only community in the country to be home to the best small, medium and large company to work for in America.

Sources:

Best Companies: Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For in America, 2014, Great Places Institute, 2013
Population: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates, July 2013
Knowledge Workforce: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2013
Educational Attainment and School Enrollment: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2012
Wage estimates: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2013
Patents: U.S. Patent and Trade Office

We have IDQ data available for 50 major metro areas. You may select up to 10 cities at a time.

Open IDQ Comparison

Save Time and Money in Rochester, NY

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 average length of commute, local gas prices, yearly delays per commuter, and public transit use.

The average commute time in the Rochester, NY Region is only 21.1 minutes. Our short commutes save time, save money, and improve workforce productivity. Check out the comparison between Rochester and major metropolitan areas around the country and you'll see a real savings in Rochester, NY.