Work & commute · Rochester

Work & commute in Rochester, NY

42% of Rochester’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Henrietta (8%), Greece (5%) and Brighton (4%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

42%

32,750 of 78,357 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 45,607 Rochester residents head out of town to work, 32,750 work right here, and 105,815 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rochester.

45,607live here, work elsewhere

32,750live and work here

105,815work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rochester goes to work

Rochester (in town)right here

42%32,750

Henrietta8.1 mi away

8%6,297

Greece7 mi away

5%4,250

Brighton4 mi away

4%3,417

Gates5 mi away

4%3,284

Irondequoit3.6 mi away

3%2,147

Perinton11.4 mi away

3%2,027

New York256.4 mi away

2%1,880

Pittsford7.9 mi away

2%1,816

Penfield8.8 mi away

2%1,684

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%18,805

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Rochester commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

75%

15%

75%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rochester is a job hub

1.77jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Rochester are

138,565 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 Rochester

138,565 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Rochester residents hold

78,357 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month49%

+5%

Jobs based in Rochester, 2013 → 2023: 132,558 → 138,565. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe 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 saysA 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 surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.