Rochester
City
Rochester skyline
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  Med City, Roch
Motto(s):  America's City of Care and Innovation[1]
Location of the city of Rochester within Olmsted County, Minnesota
Rochester Location of Rochester in Minnesota Show map of Minnesota Rochester Location of Rochester, MN in the US Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 44°01′24″N 92°27′41″W / 44.02333°N 92.46139°W / 44.02333; -92.46139
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Olmsted
Founded	July 12, 1854
Incorporated	August 5, 1858
Government
• Mayor	Kim Norton (DFL)[a]
Area [2]
• City	55.87 sq mi (144.71 km2)
• Land	55.58 sq mi (143.96 km2)
• Water	0.29 sq mi (0.75 km2)
Elevation [3]	1,129 ft (344 m)
Population  (2020)[4]
• City	121,395
• Estimate  (2023)[5]	122,413
• Rank	234th in the United States 3rd in Minnesota
• Density	2,184.07/sq mi (843.27/km2)
• Urban	121,587 (273rd)
• Metro	228,073 (207th)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	55901–55906
Area code	507
FIPS code	27-54880
GNIS feature ID	2396395[3]
Website	rochestermn.gov

Rochester is a city in and the county seat of Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of Mayo Clinic.^[6]

At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 121,395, making it Minnesota's third-largest city.^[4] The Rochester metropolitan area, which also includes the nearby rural agricultural areas, had a population of 226,329 in 2020.^[7]

History

Several indigenous peoples such as Dakota, Ojibway, and Winnebago inhabited the Rochester area.^[8] The area developed as a stagecoach stop between Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Dubuque, Iowa near the Zumbro River. The community was founded by George Head and his wife Henrietta who built a log cabin named Head's Tavern in 1854 and named the city after his hometown of Rochester, New York.^[9] When the Winona and St Peter Railroad initiated service in October 1864, it brought new residents and business opportunities and spurred growth. In 1863, William W. Mayo arrived as the examining surgeon for Union draftees in the Civil War.

St. Marys Hospital

On August 21, 1883, the Great Tornado demolished much of Rochester, leaving 37 dead and approximately 200 injured. As there was no medical facility in the immediate area at the time, Mayo and his two sons worked together to care for the wounded. Donations of US$60,000 (US$1,932,562 in 2022) were collected and the Sisters of St. Francis, assisted by Mayo, opened a new facility named St. Marys Hospital in 1889.^[10]

Geography

Rochester lies alongside the South Fork of the Zumbro River which is 57.6 miles (92.7 km) long^[11] and is ringed by gentle hills and largely surrounded by farmland within a deciduous forest biome. The Zumbro Watershed flows through 1,422 square miles (3,680 km²)^[12] of agricultural and urban lands. Located in southeast Minnesota, the City of Rochester lies at the western edge of the Driftless Area, a region that was never glaciated and contains deeply-carved river valleys. The rugged terrain is due both to the lack of glacial deposits, or drift, and to the incision of the upper Mississippi River and its tributaries into bedrock. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.75 square miles (141.80 km²), of which 54.59 square miles (141.39 km²) of it is land and 0.16 square miles (0.41 km²) is water.^[13] The city is located 85 miles (137 km) southeast of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.^[14]

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. Silver Lake was once used as a cooling pond when the coal-burning power plant was operated by Rochester Public Utilities at the lake. When operational, the RPU coal plant's heated water output prevented the lake from generally freezing over during the winter months, attracting large numbers of migrating giant Canada geese. Large murders of crows are known to flock to Rochester during winter, including the Rochester cemetery downtown.^[15]

Rochester has an extensive parks system, the largest of which are Silver Lake and Soldiers Field in the central part of the city. A major flood in 1978 led the city to embark on an expensive and successful flood-control project that involved altering many nearby rivers and streams. The Zumbro River flowing through the center of the city is presently being readdressed for increased development and use as part of city planning in conjunction with funding from the Destination Medical Center project.

Climate

With a slightly higher altitude and without the UHI as the Twin Cities, the climate is warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb) even being further south, with warm summers and cold winters.^[16] The city features four distinct seasons. Rochester sees on average 33.02 inches (839 mm) of rainfall and 51.9 inches (132 cm) of snowfall per year. Significant snow accumulation is common during the winter months. Spring and fall are transitional seasons, with a general warming trend during the spring and a general cooling trend during the fall. However, it is not uncommon to see some snowfall during the early month of spring and the later month of fall.^[17] Rochester is the second windiest city in the United States, with wind speeds averaging 12.6 mph (20.3 km/h).^[18] January to April are the windiest months on average, according to The Weather Channel. Rochester has been hit by two F4 tornadoes since 1950 (the first on May 10, 1953, and the other on September 16, 1962).^[19] The city has also been hit by two tornadoes in the past decade. On June 17, 2010, a tornado hit the city's northwest side, damaging or destroying several homes and businesses around the Lincolnshire neighborhood.^[20] Another tornado struck the city on June 4, 2019, causing damage to parts of Southwest Rochester.^[21]

Notes

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,^[25] the population was 121,395. The population density was 2,187.5 inhabitants per square mile (844.6/km²). There were 53,210 housing units at an average density of 958.8 per square mile (370.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.2% White, 8.9% Black or African American, 7.9% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.9% from other races, and 6.6% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 6.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In terms of ancestry, the 2005–2007 American Community Survey found German Americans to be the largest single ethnic group in Rochester, making up 35.5% of the city's population. Norwegian Americans made up 15.9%, while Irish Americans contributed to 11.6% of the city's populace. English Americans made up 8.2% of the population and Swedish Americans were 5.0% of the city's population. In the mid-1980's Rochester had fewer than 40 Hmong persons.^[14] The 1990 United States Census counted 200 Hmong persons in Rochester. This increased to 300 by 1998. Cathleen Jo Faruque, author of "Migration of Hmong to Rochester, Minnesota: Life in the Midwest," wrote in 2003 that there was "every indication that this trend will continue".^[26]

There were^[when?] 43,025 households, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.6% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.04.

The median age in the city was 35 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.4% were from 25 to 44; 24.8% were from 45 to 64; and 12.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

As of the 2011–2015 American Community Survey, the median household income was $68,023.^[27]