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Work & commute in Rochester · A commuter town

100% of Rochester’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Rochester for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Bowling Green (20%), Morgantown (11%) and Beaver Dam (6%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 35 working residents
Typical commute
28 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
33 min
More than KY (24 min)
Work from home
0%
Less than KY (10%)
Jobs based here
13
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Rochester?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

20% of working residents work in Bowling Green

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Corydon: 1 residents work here (3%)RochesterHartford: 1 residents work here (3%)Beaver Dam: 2 residents work here (6%)Morgantown: 4 residents work here (11%)Cold Spring: 1 residents work here (3%)Greenville: 1 residents work here (3%)Scottsville: 2 residents work here (6%)Campbellsville: 2 residents work here (6%)Russellville: 2 residents work here (6%)MadisonvilleOwensboroBowling Green: 7 residents work here (20%)Bowling GreenMorgantownBeaver DamScottsvilleCampbellsvilleRussellvilleRochester
1
Bowling Green29.9 mi away
20%7
2
Morgantown10.6 mi away
11%4
3
Beaver Dam13.5 mi away
6%2
4
Scottsville49.4 mi away
6%2
5
Campbellsville85.2 mi away
6%2
6
Russellville25.5 mi away
6%2
7
Corydon, IN81.1 mi away
3%1
8
Hartford16.9 mi away
3%1
9
Cold Spring182.9 mi away
3%1
10
Greenville15.7 mi away
3%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
34%12
The top trips

Where Rochester clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 33 minutes each way, longer than most of Kentucky

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
252 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Rochester33 min
Kentucky24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

of Rochester workers work from home, vs 10% across Kentucky. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
Day and night

Rochester quiets down on a workday

On a workday 35 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 13 people come in from elsewhere.

35live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
13work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night160
Workday130
160live here− 35head out to work+ 13come in to work= 130on a workday

About 130 people are in Rochester on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.37jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.37 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of Rochester commutes less than 28 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miBowling Green: 20% · 29.9 miMorgantown: 11% · 10.6 miBeaver Dam: 6% · 13.5 miScottsville: 6% · 49.4 miCampbellsville: 6% · 85.2 miRussellville: 6% · 25.5 miCorydon: 3% · 81.1 miHartford: 3% · 16.9 miCold Spring: 3% · 182.9 miGreenville: 3% · 15.7 miBowling Green 20%Morgantown 11%Beaver Dam 6%Scottsville 6%Campbellsville 6%Rochester
RochesterTop destinations (size = commuters)
9%Under 10 mi3 residents
26%10–24 mi9 residents
41%25–50 mi14 residents
24%Over 50 mi8 residents

About 24% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

13 jobs are based in Rochester. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rochester’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in RochesterJobs Rochester residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%31%
Trade, transport & utilities0%17%
Services: health, schools, offices100%51%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less0%17%
$1,251–$3,333 a month46%31%
Over $3,333 a month54%51%

Who does it

29 or younger15%26%
30 to 5462%40%
55 and older23%34%
+1200%

Jobs based in Rochester, 2013 → 2023: 1 → 13. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.
  • Where the employer says. A job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.
  • Two surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Rochester

Rochester home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Rochester, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Rochester worth it?

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Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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