Welcome to Rochester ...
The city of Rochester is located in Olmsted County<1> and is the County Seat for Olmsted County.
The pronunciation of Rochester: RAW-chest-uhr<2>
Rochester was established in 1854.
When the people of Rochester refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Rochesterian<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Rochester has a population of 118,852 people<4> (see below for details).
The community of Rochester is 1,120 feet [341 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Rochester lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Rochester: (507)
The ZIP codes for Rochester: 55901-55906<6>
Websites for Rochester ...
Official Website: www.rochestermn.gov/
Chamber of Commerce: www.rochestermnchamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Rochester had an population of 118,852 people. This is an increase of 11.32% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 38.51% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Rochester had a population of 106,769 people (or 74.02% of the total population of Olmsted County). This makes Rochester the county's most populous community.
The population of Rochester represents 2.01% of the population of Minnesota (which has 5,303,925 people), making it the state's 3rd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 106,769 people, the population of Rochester increased 24.43% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 85,806 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Rochester.
Communities Also Named Rochester ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 32 communities that are also named Rochester - they are located in Alberta, California, Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (6), Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana (2), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio (4), Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rochester.
Communities near Rochester ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rochester.
- Kasson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kasson have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kasson
- Kasson is located in Dodge County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,530 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kasson <8>
- Stewartville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stewartville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartville
- Stewartville is located in Olmsted County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,095 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stewartville <8>
- Byron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byron have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Byron is located in Olmsted County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,691 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Byron <8>
- Pine Island
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Island
- Pine Island is located in Goodhue County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,486 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pine Island <8>
- Plainview
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
- Plainview is located in Wabasha County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plainview <8>
- Chatfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatfield
- Chatfield is located in Fillmore County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,826 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chatfield <8>
- Dodge Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodge Center have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge Center
- Dodge Center is located in Dodge County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,798 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dodge Center <8>
- Eyota
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eyota have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eyota
- Eyota is located in Olmsted County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,992 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eyota <8>
- Oronoco
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oronoco have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoco
- Oronoco is located in Olmsted County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,532 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oronoco <8>
- Hayfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayfield
- Hayfield is located in Dodge County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hayfield <8>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Rochester. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rochester.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rochester. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rochester.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rochester. Our list includes 30 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Rochester.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rochester ...
Looking for more information about Rochester? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Rochester, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Rochester.
Adding Rochester to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Rochester in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Rochester was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Rochester post office opened in 1855.
We also found Rochester in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Rochester.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rochester: www.rochestermn.gov/
The official website for Olmsted County: www.olmstedcounty.com/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Minnesota's counties, including Olmsted, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Rochester. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Rochester refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Rochester may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Rochester. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rochester - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Rochester). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Rochester or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Our list of ZIP Codes for Rochester includes: 55901, 55902, 55903, 55904, 55905 & 55906. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |