Our Community

Our community provides residents with an exceptional quality of life. We have the arts, sports and culture of a big city with the comfort of a small town. There are activities to enjoy year round from boating on Lake Ontario and golfing at one of our over 60 golf courses to skiing at top-notch resorts.  We invite you to visit our community and see for yourself why people who move here don’t want to leave.

Monroe County offers access to cultural amenities, affordable health care, recreational activities, cost of living, excellent schools, weather and an environment in which to raise a healthy and educated family. In addition to a beautiful, varied landscape, an abundance of cultural and recreational activities, Rochester is one of the least congested cities in the U.S., with an average commute of just 21.6 minutes.

 

Notable Rankings About Life in Rochester, NY:

Living Here

Monroe County and the Greater Rochester Region offer an exceptional quality of life that can be measured by a variety of factors including access to cultural amenities, recreational activities, cost of living, excellent schools, weather, and an environment in which to raise a healthy family. The arts, culture, sports and nightlife of a big city along with the ease and comfort of small town can all be found in our vibrant community.

Monroe County is comprised of 19 towns, 10 villages and the City of Rochester: the third largest city in the state, with a combined population of approximately 741,770 residents and a land area of 663.21 square miles. Forbes named Rochester the 3rd Best Place to Raise a Family based on the cost of living, short commutes and the affordable housing available in our community. Forbes also recognized Rochester as the 4th Most Affordable City due in part to our diversified economy and history of sustained low cost of living.

In addition to a beautiful, diverse landscape and an abundance of cultural and recreational activities, Monroe County offers residents 21 parks totaling nearly 12,000 acres. Almost all 21 County Parks have picnic and hiking areas and most are equipped with sports facilities, shelters and lodges.

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Short Commute & Transportation

Monroe County’s roughly 741,770 residents enjoy an average commute time of 21.6 minutes*.  Located within 500 miles of 1/3 of the U.S. and Canadian population, Monroe County is 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 average length of commute, local gas prices, yearly delays per commuter, and public transit use.

The Frederick Douglass-Greater Rochester International Airport offers over 30,000 seats per week and 106 flights per day to 19 non-stop destinations and major hubs with connections worldwide. Flights to cities such as Boston, New York and Washington, DC are less than 1 ½ hours by air. Our airport is also ranked as one of the most affordable airports in the country. (Source: 2016 Airport Affordability Index, Cheapflights.com)

 

*Average commute time and median housing value data is from 2019 American Community Survey 5-year estimates; Rochester Region data is from 2019 American Community Survey 1-year estimate; Workforce data is from NYS Department of Labor, August 2017; Population data is from the July 2019 U.S. Census Population Estimates