Rochester, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Rochester is a city
in the U.S.
state
of Minnesota
and is the county seat
of Olmsted County
. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River
, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area.
in 1857. Rochester developed as a stagecoach
stop between Saint Paul
, Minnesota
, and Dubuque
, Iowa
. When the railroad arrived in the 1860s, it brought new residents and business opportunities. In 1863, Dr. William W. Mayo arrived as the examining surgeon for draftees in the Civil War
.
On August 21, 1883, the Great Tornado
demolished much of Rochester, leaving 37 dead and about 200 injured. There was no medical facility at the time, so Mayo and his two sons worked together to care for the wounded. Donations of $60,000 were collected and the Sisters of St. Francis
, assisted by Mayo, opened a new facility named St. Marys Hospital
in 1889. The Mayo practice grew and is today among the largest and most well-respected medical facilities in the world. Many famous people from around the world, including former Presidents
George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford
, and Ronald Reagan
, the Dalai Lama
, and King Hussein
of Jordan
, have visited Rochester as patients of the Mayo Clinic
.
A number of Rochester buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places
, including the former Chateau Theatre
, which now houses a Barnes & Noble bookstore, and Avalon Music, formerly a hotel important in the local civil rights movement
.
, the city has a total area of 39.8 square miles (103.1 km²): 39.6 square miles (102.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.35%) is water.
Rochester is in Olmsted County
, one of only four counties in Minnesota without a natural lake. Artificial lakes exist in the area, including Silver Lake, a dammed portion of the South Fork Zumbro River just below the convergence with Silver Creek near the city center. The lake was used as a cooling pond
for the nearby electrical power plant for many years, although the amount of water used for this purpose has been significantly reduced. Heated water in the lake generally prevents it from freezing over even during Minnesota winters, attracting large numbers of migrating
Giant Canada Geese
, which have become symbols of the city.
A major flood in 1978 led the city to embark on an expensive flood-control project that involved altering many nearby rivers and streams.
conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 95,179 people, 39,203 households, and 23,831 families in the city.
There were 42,049 housing units. There were 39,203 households out of which 49.8% were married couples. About 31.6% had children under the age of 18. About 2.5% were made up of a male householder with no wife present and about 8.5% were made up of a female householder with no husband present. In addition, 39.2% of all households were non-family households and 32.6% of households were made up of householders living alone. And 8.7% of households were made up of someone living alone who was 65 years of age and over. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.04.
As of the 2005–2007 American Community Survey, the median household income was $57,957 and the median family income was $74,467. The per capita income was $30,977. About 5.9% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those aged 65 or over.
In terms of ancestry, the 2005–2007 American Community Survey found German American
s to be the largest single ethnic group in Rochester, making up 35.5% of the city's population. Norwegian American
s made up 15.9%, while Irish American
s contributed to 11.6% of the city's populace. English American
s made up 8.2% of the population and Swedish American
s were 5.0% of the city's population. As many patients of the Mayo Clinic
are Muslim, Rochester's Abubakar Siddiq Mosque was recently built.
According to the 2010 US Census, non-Hispanic whites
made up 81.9% of Rochester's population. Blacks made up 6.3% of the population while American Indian
s made up 0.2% of the populace. Asians
were the largest minority group
; representing 6.8% of Rochester's population. Hispanics and Latino
s made up 5.2% of the city's population.
According to newly released 2010 census information Rochester has a population of 106,760 a 24.4 percent increase since 2000.
Olmsted County has a population of 144,248 in 2010.
forms the core of Rochester's economy, employing about 30,000 people and drawing over 2 million visitors to the city each year. The clinic's many facilities, along with hotels, restaurants and retail stores, comprise nearly all of the city's downtown. Other care providers, including the Rochester Federal Medical Center
, are significant employers.
IBM
's Rochester campus
is one of the company's most important manufacturing centers, having produced the System i series, been home to the first Blue Gene
prototype, and contributed the servers for Roadrunner. Seven employees at the Rochester IBM campus created IBM Employees Credit Union, which is now Think Mutual Bank
, a chain of banks in the Rochester and Twin Cities metropolitan areas.
The economy of Rochester is also influenced by the agricultural nature of the region. Seneca Foods
has a processing plant in Rochester, and multiple dairy producers such as Kemps
are active in the area. In addition, Kerry Flavours and Ingredients, a subsidiary of the global Irish company called Kerry Group, maintains a production plant in Rochester that specializies in fermented ingredients, found in breads, meats and other manufactured foods.
Rochester currently has one of the lowest unemployed rates in the country, at 4.5 percent.
, U.S. 52
, and U.S. 63
), and the southern edge of Rochester is skirted by Interstate Highway 90
and State Highway 30
. Olmsted County Highway 22 is also a main highway in the city because it circles most of Rochester. A combination of skyways and subterranean walkways (the "subway") link most downtown buildings. Public transit is run by Rochester City Lines. Rochester International Airport
, located about seven miles south of downtown, is the second busiest commercial airport in Minnesota.
A proposed Twin Cities-Rochester rail link has been subject to a series of studies since the late 1980s, either as an independent route to the Twin Cities or as part of a high-speed link to Chicago
. Rochester previously had service to Chicago until the Chicago and North Western Railway
's Rochester 400
ended service in 1963.
, represented by Mankato
educator Tim Walz
, a member of the Democratic Farmer Labor Party| (DFL]. The city includes parts of Minnesota state legislative
districts 29 and 30.
The mayor of Rochester is Ardell Brede
.
The city has an early defibrillation program; all marked city police cars carry defibrillators.
Rochester Public Schools enroll 16,300 students in 23 public primary
and secondary
schools. The city is divided into three public high school districts: John Marshall
, Mayo
and Century
. Private schools in the city include Lourdes and Schaeffer Academy, and Studio Academy, a fine arts-focused charter school
.
Higher education in Rochester has been concentrated at University Center Rochester
in the city's southeast outskirts, where Rochester Community and Technical College shares a campus with a branch of Winona State University
. The University of Minnesota
offered degrees through UCR until 2007, when the University of Minnesota Rochester
was established downtown. Rochester is also home to Crossroads College
, along with branches of Cardinal Stritch University
and the Minnesota School of Business. Branches of Augsburg College
and College of St. Scholastica are also in Rochester as are branches of Winona State University
and St. Mary's University
.
The Mayo Clinic offers graduate medical education and research programs through the Mayo Medical School
.
, with very warm summers and very cold winters. The city features four distinct seasons. Rochester sees on average 30 inches of rainfall per year, as well as 48 inches of snowfall. Significant snow accumulation is common during the winter months, with average temperatures well below the freezing point. Spring and fall are transitional seasons, with a general warming trend during the spring and a general cooling trend during the fall. However, it’s not uncommon to see some snowfall during the early months of spring and the later months of fall.
edition of their main paper. A newspaper for all of Olmsted County, the Olmsted County Journal, is a weekly newspaper in the area.
There are two television stations based in Rochester: KTTC
channel 10 (NBC
), KTTC
-(CW
) channel 10.2, and KXLT-TV
channel 47 (Fox
). The stations share studios as part of a special agreement between Quincy Newspapers and Segamorehill Broadcasting. KIMT
channel 3 (CBS
) in Mason City
, Iowa
, KAAL
channel 6 (ABC
) in Austin
, channel 15 KSMQ (PBS
) in Austin and channel 24 KYIN (PBS
) in Mason City
are among the stations that serve the market. KAAL is licensed to Austin, but has a studio in Rochester.
The Rochester area is served by cable company Charter Communications
.
magazine's "Best Places to Live" index, and was ranked number 67 on the 2006 list, and in the top 3, including number one multiple times, from 1993-1997.
Rochester ranked second in Quality of Life by American City Business Journal.
Rochester ranked sixth in Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Magazine's 10 Best Cities for the Next Decade.
Golf Digest
and Golf for Women both ranked Rochester as the fifth best golf market in the midwest in 2006.
In 2009, US News and World Report ranked Rochester in the Top Ten Best Places to Grow Up and ninth for Best Cities for job seeking retirees.
Rochester has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States. As of November 2011, it is 4.5 percent.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Olmsted County
Olmsted County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 124,277 people, 47,807 households, and 32,317 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile . There were 49,422 housing units at an average density of 76 per square mile...
. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River
Zumbro River
The Zumbro River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is about 50 mi long from the confluence of its principal tributaries and drains a watershed of 1,428 sq mi...
, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The territorial legislature created Olmsted County on February 20, 1855, with Rochester named county seatCounty seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
in 1857. Rochester developed as a stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
stop between Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and Dubuque
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. When the railroad arrived in the 1860s, it brought new residents and business opportunities. In 1863, Dr. William W. Mayo arrived as the examining surgeon for draftees in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
On August 21, 1883, the Great Tornado
1883 Rochester Tornado
The 1883 Rochester tornado was an F5 tornado that hit Rochester, Minnesota on August 21, 1883. It was one in a series of tornadoes that hit Southeast Minnesota that day, causing at least 37 deaths and over 200 injuries, and was the impetus for the creation of the Mayo Clinic. On July 21, two...
demolished much of Rochester, leaving 37 dead and about 200 injured. There was no medical facility at the time, so Mayo and his two sons worked together to care for the wounded. Donations of $60,000 were collected and the Sisters of St. Francis
Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota
The Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota is a Roman Catholic religious congregation for women. The congregation was founded in 1877 by Mother Mary Alfred Moes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona...
, assisted by Mayo, opened a new facility named St. Marys Hospital
Saint Marys Hospital (Rochester)
Saint Marys Hospital is one of two hospitals in Rochester, Minnesota operated by the Mayo Clinic, the other being Rochester Methodist Hospital. St Marys has a 61-bed emergency department but no obstetrics department, while Rochester Methodist lacks an emergency department but contains an obstetrics...
in 1889. The Mayo practice grew and is today among the largest and most well-respected medical facilities in the world. Many famous people from around the world, including former Presidents
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
, and King Hussein
Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal was the third King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein's rule extended through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict...
of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, have visited Rochester as patients of the Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
.
A number of Rochester buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, including the former Chateau Theatre
Chateau Theatre
The Chateau Theatre originally opened as a Vaudeville house in Rochester, Minnesota that opened in 1927 with an interior decorated as a medieval village. The theater was converted to a movie house eventually remodeled and reopened as a Barnes & Noble bookstore. The Chateau was originally opened on...
, which now houses a Barnes & Noble bookstore, and Avalon Music, formerly a hotel important in the local civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
.
Geography
Rochester lies alongside the South Fork of the Zumbro River. According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 39.8 square miles (103.1 km²): 39.6 square miles (102.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.35%) is water.
Rochester is in Olmsted County
Olmsted County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 124,277 people, 47,807 households, and 32,317 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile . There were 49,422 housing units at an average density of 76 per square mile...
, one of only four counties in Minnesota without a natural lake. Artificial lakes exist in the area, including Silver Lake, a dammed portion of the South Fork Zumbro River just below the convergence with Silver Creek near the city center. The lake was used as a cooling pond
Cooling pond
A cooling pond is a man-made body of water primarily formed for the purpose of supplying cooling water to a nearby power plant or industrial facility such as a petroleum refinery, pulp and paper mill, chemical plant, steel mill or smelter...
for the nearby electrical power plant for many years, although the amount of water used for this purpose has been significantly reduced. Heated water in the lake generally prevents it from freezing over even during Minnesota winters, attracting large numbers of migrating
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
Giant Canada Geese
Canada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....
, which have become symbols of the city.
A major flood in 1978 led the city to embark on an expensive flood-control project that involved altering many nearby rivers and streams.
Demographics
As of the 2005–2007 American Community SurveyAmerican Community Survey
The American Community Survey is an ongoing statistical survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, sent to approximately 250,000 addresses monthly . It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census...
conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 95,179 people, 39,203 households, and 23,831 families in the city.
There were 42,049 housing units. There were 39,203 households out of which 49.8% were married couples. About 31.6% had children under the age of 18. About 2.5% were made up of a male householder with no wife present and about 8.5% were made up of a female householder with no husband present. In addition, 39.2% of all households were non-family households and 32.6% of households were made up of householders living alone. And 8.7% of households were made up of someone living alone who was 65 years of age and over. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.04.
As of the 2005–2007 American Community Survey, the median household income was $57,957 and the median family income was $74,467. The per capita income was $30,977. About 5.9% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those aged 65 or over.
In terms of ancestry, the 2005–2007 American Community Survey found German American
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
s to be the largest single ethnic group in Rochester, making up 35.5% of the city's population. Norwegian American
Norwegian American
Norwegian Americans are Americans of Norwegian descent. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the later half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century. There are more than 4.5 million Norwegian Americans according to the most recent U.S. census, and...
s made up 15.9%, while Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
s contributed to 11.6% of the city's populace. English American
English American
English Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....
s made up 8.2% of the population and Swedish American
Swedish American
Swedish Americans are Americans of Swedish descent, especially the descendants of about 1.2 million immigrants from Sweden during 1885-1915. Most were Lutherans who affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ; some were Methodists...
s were 5.0% of the city's population. As many patients of the Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
are Muslim, Rochester's Abubakar Siddiq Mosque was recently built.
According to the 2010 US Census, non-Hispanic whites
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
made up 81.9% of Rochester's population. Blacks made up 6.3% of the population while American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
s made up 0.2% of the populace. Asians
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
were the largest minority group
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
; representing 6.8% of Rochester's population. Hispanics and Latino
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
s made up 5.2% of the city's population.
According to newly released 2010 census information Rochester has a population of 106,760 a 24.4 percent increase since 2000.
Olmsted County has a population of 144,248 in 2010.
Economy
The Mayo ClinicMayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
forms the core of Rochester's economy, employing about 30,000 people and drawing over 2 million visitors to the city each year. The clinic's many facilities, along with hotels, restaurants and retail stores, comprise nearly all of the city's downtown. Other care providers, including the Rochester Federal Medical Center
Federal Medical Center, Rochester
Federal Medical Center, Rochester is a United States Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in southeast Minnesota which provides specialized and long-term physical and mental health medical care to male offenders...
, are significant employers.
IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's Rochester campus
IBM Rochester
IBM Rochester is the facility of International Business Machines in Rochester, Minnesota, not to be confused with the IBM Global Services facility in Rochester, NY. The initial structure was designed by Eero Saarinen, who clad the structure in blue panels of varying hues after being inspired by...
is one of the company's most important manufacturing centers, having produced the System i series, been home to the first Blue Gene
Blue Gene
Blue Gene is a computer architecture project to produce several supercomputers, designed to reach operating speeds in the PFLOPS range, and currently reaching sustained speeds of nearly 500 TFLOPS . It is a cooperative project among IBM Blue Gene is a computer architecture project to produce...
prototype, and contributed the servers for Roadrunner. Seven employees at the Rochester IBM campus created IBM Employees Credit Union, which is now Think Mutual Bank
Think Mutual Bank
Think Mutual Bank is a bank based out of Rochester, Minnesota. It has 10 full locations across Minnesota, as well as nine ATM locations without banks. It was founded in 1961 as the IBM Rochester Employees Credit Union...
, a chain of banks in the Rochester and Twin Cities metropolitan areas.
The economy of Rochester is also influenced by the agricultural nature of the region. Seneca Foods
Seneca Foods
Seneca Foods Corporation is a leading low-cost food processor and distributor headquartered in Marion, New York, USA. The company primarily produces canned, frozen, and bottled produce under private label as well as national and regional brands that the company owns or licenses, including Seneca,...
has a processing plant in Rochester, and multiple dairy producers such as Kemps
Kemps
Kemps also well known by other names such as Crepes, Party, Kent, Quems, Canes, Signals, Cash, Twa, Spam, Campers, Squares, Jabers, Peanut Butter, Comps, Mujumbo, Schenectady, and less popularly as Gumpsh is a matching card game for two to six teams of two players each. It is played with a standard...
are active in the area. In addition, Kerry Flavours and Ingredients, a subsidiary of the global Irish company called Kerry Group, maintains a production plant in Rochester that specializies in fermented ingredients, found in breads, meats and other manufactured foods.
Rochester currently has one of the lowest unemployed rates in the country, at 4.5 percent.
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of... |
32,000 |
| 2 | IBM IBM Rochester IBM Rochester is the facility of International Business Machines in Rochester, Minnesota, not to be confused with the IBM Global Services facility in Rochester, NY. The initial structure was designed by Eero Saarinen, who clad the structure in blue panels of varying hues after being inspired by... |
4,400 |
| 3 | Rochester Public Schools | 2,200 |
| 4 | Olmsted County | 1,181 |
| 5 | Olmsted Medical Center | 1,138 |
| 6 | Walmart and Sam's Club Sam's Club Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members... |
1,005 |
| 7 | HyVee | 880 |
| 8 | City of Rochester | 947 |
| 9 | Crenlo | 725 |
| 10 | Sunstone Hotel Properties | 650 |
| 11 | Charter Communications Charter Communications Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications... |
625 |
Transportation
Rochester is served by three U.S. highways (U.S. 14U.S. Route 14
U.S. Route 14 , an east–west route, is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It currently has a length of 1,398 miles , but it had a peak length of 1,429 miles . For much of its length, it runs roughly parallel to Interstate 90.As of 2004, the highway's eastern terminus is in...
, U.S. 52
U.S. Route 52 in Minnesota
U.S. Highway 52 enters the state of Minnesota at the unincorporated community of Prosper, north of the town of Burr Oak, Iowa. The route is marked north–south in Minnesota along its independent segment from the Iowa state line to downtown St. Paul...
, and U.S. 63
U.S. Route 63
U.S. Route 63 is a long north–south United States highway primarily in the Midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 in Ruston, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 2 in Benoit, Wisconsin, about east of Duluth, Minnesota. It is not related to U.S...
), and the southern edge of Rochester is skirted by Interstate Highway 90
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
and State Highway 30
Minnesota State Highway 30
Minnesota State Highway 30 is a highway in southwest and southeast Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 34 at the South Dakota state line near Airlie and Pipestone, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with Minnesota Highway 43 in Rushford.Highway 30 is in...
. Olmsted County Highway 22 is also a main highway in the city because it circles most of Rochester. A combination of skyways and subterranean walkways (the "subway") link most downtown buildings. Public transit is run by Rochester City Lines. Rochester International Airport
Rochester International Airport
Rochester International Airport is a nonhub primary airport located seven miles southwest of the central business district of Rochester, a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States. It is the second busiest commercial airport in Minnesota...
, located about seven miles south of downtown, is the second busiest commercial airport in Minnesota.
A proposed Twin Cities-Rochester rail link has been subject to a series of studies since the late 1980s, either as an independent route to the Twin Cities or as part of a high-speed link to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Rochester previously had service to Chicago until the Chicago and North Western Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
's Rochester 400
Rochester 400
The Rochester 400 was the last in a series of streamlined passenger trains operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway along the railroad's southern Minnesota line...
ended service in 1963.
Government
Rochester is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional districtMinnesota's 1st congressional district
Minnesota's 1st congressional district extends across southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. The First District is primarily a rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, although this is changing rapidly due to strong population growth in...
, represented by Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
educator Tim Walz
Tim Walz
Timothy James Walz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party .The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa...
, a member of the Democratic Farmer Labor Party| (DFL]. The city includes parts of Minnesota state legislative
Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
districts 29 and 30.
The mayor of Rochester is Ardell Brede
Ardell Brede
Ardell F. Brede is the current mayor of Rochester, Minnesota in the United States. Before he was elected, he worked as an administrator for the Mayo Clinic....
.
The city has an early defibrillation program; all marked city police cars carry defibrillators.
Education
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
and secondary
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
schools. The city is divided into three public high school districts: John Marshall
John Marshall High School (Minnesota)
John Marshall High School is located in Rochester, Minnesota and is part of Independent School District #535. The school is named for the longest serving Justice in Supreme Court history. It is located at 1510 14th St. NW Rochester, MN 55901. It is one of three public High Schools in Rochester...
, Mayo
Mayo High School
Mayo High School is an American high school named after the brothers William James Mayo and Charles Horace Mayo, physicians and founders of the Mayo Clinic. Mayo High School was built in 1966 in the southeastern section of Rochester, Minnesota. A public school, it is part of the Rochester...
and Century
Century High School (Rochester, Minnesota)
Century High School is a public American high school located in Rochester, Minnesota. A member of Independent School District #535, Century opened in 1997. It is one of three public high schools in Rochester. The school mascot is the Panther, and school colors are navy blue and silver...
. Private schools in the city include Lourdes and Schaeffer Academy, and Studio Academy, a fine arts-focused charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
.
Higher education in Rochester has been concentrated at University Center Rochester
University Center Rochester
University Center Rochester is a higher education facility in Rochester, Minnesota. MISSION: A comprehensive and unified University Center Rochester. VISION: To provide access to quality higher education in an environment of integrated academic partnerships...
in the city's southeast outskirts, where Rochester Community and Technical College shares a campus with a branch of Winona State University
Winona State University
Winona State University is a comprehensive public university in Winona, Minnesota, United States, a college and river town located in picturesque bluff country on the Mississippi River, with around 8,900 enrolled undergraduate and graduate students...
. The University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
offered degrees through UCR until 2007, when the University of Minnesota Rochester
University of Minnesota Rochester
The University of Minnesota Rochester is the newest campus of the University of Minnesota system, having been formally established in December 2006. Over 35 academic programs are available on the campus in Rochester, Minnesota located downtown near the Mayo Clinic. In April 2008, Stephen...
was established downtown. Rochester is also home to Crossroads College
Crossroads College
Crossroads College is a four year, coeducational Christian college in Rochester, Minnesota, which is nationally accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education. Crossroads is nondenominational and draws students from a variety of Christian denominations...
, along with branches of Cardinal Stritch University
Cardinal Stritch University
Cardinal Stritch University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.The university also has sites located in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and Rochester, Minnesota, as well as multiple Outreach programs throughout Wisconsin.Cardinal...
and the Minnesota School of Business. Branches of Augsburg College
Augsburg College
Augsburg College is a selective liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Augsburg was named for the Augsburg Confession, the document of Lutheran belief. The school was founded in 1869 in Marshall, Wisconsin as Augsburg Seminary and moved...
and College of St. Scholastica are also in Rochester as are branches of Winona State University
Winona State University
Winona State University is a comprehensive public university in Winona, Minnesota, United States, a college and river town located in picturesque bluff country on the Mississippi River, with around 8,900 enrolled undergraduate and graduate students...
and St. Mary's University
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota is a private, comprehensive, coeducational university with an undergraduate campus in the city of Winona, Minnesota, United States...
.
The Mayo Clinic offers graduate medical education and research programs through the Mayo Medical School
Mayo Medical School
Mayo Medical School is a part of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. It grants degrees in medicine, and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
.
Climate
Rochester features a humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
, with very warm summers and very cold winters. The city features four distinct seasons. Rochester sees on average 30 inches of rainfall per year, as well as 48 inches of snowfall. Significant snow accumulation is common during the winter months, with average temperatures well below the freezing point. Spring and fall are transitional seasons, with a general warming trend during the spring and a general cooling trend during the fall. However, it’s not uncommon to see some snowfall during the early months of spring and the later months of fall.
Parks and recreation
Rochester's park system is large, with more than 100 sites covering 5 square miles (12.9 km²). The city maintains 85 miles (136.8 km) of paved trails. In addition, the Root River and Douglas State Trails, developed on historic rail passages, combine for nearly 55 miles (88.5 km) of scenic recreation paths in the Rochester area.Media
The city newspaper is the Post-Bulletin, an afternoon paper which publishes Monday through Saturday. The Post-Bulletin company also publishes Rochester Magazine, a monthly features periodical, as well as an Austin, MinnesotaAustin, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,314 people, 9,897 households, and 6,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,168.2 people per square mile . There were 10,261 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile...
edition of their main paper. A newspaper for all of Olmsted County, the Olmsted County Journal, is a weekly newspaper in the area.
There are two television stations based in Rochester: KTTC
KTTC
KTTC is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southeastern Minnesota and Northeastern Iowa. Licensed to Rochester, Minnesota, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter in Ostrander, Minnesota near the Fillmore and Mower County line...
channel 10 (NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), KTTC
KTTC
KTTC is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southeastern Minnesota and Northeastern Iowa. Licensed to Rochester, Minnesota, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 10 from a transmitter in Ostrander, Minnesota near the Fillmore and Mower County line...
-(CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
) channel 10.2, and KXLT-TV
KXLT-TV
KXLT-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southeastern Minnesota and Northeastern Iowa. Licensed to Rochester, Minnesota, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 46 from a transmitter in Frankford Township, Minnesota. The station can also be seen on Mediacom and...
channel 47 (Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
). The stations share studios as part of a special agreement between Quincy Newspapers and Segamorehill Broadcasting. KIMT
KIMT
KIMT is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Driftless Area of North Central Iowa and Southeastern Minnesota. Licensed to Mason City, Iowa, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 42 from a transmitter near Meyer, Iowa south of the Minnesota state line...
channel 3 (CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
) in Mason City
Mason City, Iowa
Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, KAAL
KAAL
KAAL is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Driftless Area of Southeastern Minnesota and North-Central Iowa. Licensed to Austin, Minnesota, the station broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 33 from a transmitter southeast of Grand Meadow, Minnesota in Eastern Mower...
channel 6 (ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
) in Austin
Austin, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,314 people, 9,897 households, and 6,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,168.2 people per square mile . There were 10,261 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile...
, channel 15 KSMQ (PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
) in Austin and channel 24 KYIN (PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
) in Mason City
Mason City, Iowa
Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....
are among the stations that serve the market. KAAL is licensed to Austin, but has a studio in Rochester.
The Rochester area is served by cable company Charter Communications
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
.
Awards and Rankings
The city had long been a fixture on MoneyMoney (magazine)
Money is published by Time Inc. Its first issue was published in October 1972. Its articles cover the gamut of personal finance topics ranging from investing, saving, retirement and taxes to family finance issues like paying for college, credit, career and home improvement...
magazine's "Best Places to Live" index, and was ranked number 67 on the 2006 list, and in the top 3, including number one multiple times, from 1993-1997.
Rochester ranked second in Quality of Life by American City Business Journal.
Rochester ranked sixth in Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Kiplinger's Personal Finance is a magazine that has been continuously published, on a monthly basis, from 1947 to the present day. It was the nation's first personal finance magazine, and claims to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language"...
Magazine's 10 Best Cities for the Next Decade.
Golf Digest
Golf Digest
Golf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
and Golf for Women both ranked Rochester as the fifth best golf market in the midwest in 2006.
In 2009, US News and World Report ranked Rochester in the Top Ten Best Places to Grow Up and ninth for Best Cities for job seeking retirees.
Rochester has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States. As of November 2011, it is 4.5 percent.