The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

defines the Rochester, Minnesota Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as an area consisting of five counties in

southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, anchored by the city of Rochester. As of 2018, the US Census Bureau estimates that the Rochester metropolitan statistical area has a population of 221,587. The Rochester–Austin combined statistical area has a population of 259,813 as of 2018.

Counties

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

* Fillmore *

Mower A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reape ...

Olmsted Olmsted may refer to: People * Olmsted (name) Places * Olmsted Air Force Base, inactive since 1969 * Olmsted, Illinois * Olmsted County, Minnesota * Olmsted Falls, Ohio * Olmsted Point, a viewing area in Yosemite National Park * Olmsted To ...

* Wabasha

Communities

Cities

* Places with more than 100,000 inhabitants: Rochester. * Places with 2,500 to 10,000 inhabitants:

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

, Chatfield, Dodge Center, Kasson,

Lake City Lake City may refer to: Places *Lake City, Arkansas * Lake City, California (disambiguation) *Lake City, Modoc County, California * Lake City, Nevada County, California *Lake City, Colorado *Lake City, Florida * Lake City, Georgia * Lake City, I ...

(partial), Pine Island (partial), Plainview, Stewartville, Wabasha. * Places with 1,000 to 2,500 inhabitants: Blooming Prairie (partial), Eyota, Grand Meadow,

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

, Hayfield, Mantorville, Oronoco, Preston, Rushford, Spring Valley. * Places with less than 1,000 inhabitants: Bellechester (partial),

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

Hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in Sout ...

, Kellogg, Lanesboro,

Mabel Mabel is an English female name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering the prie ...

Mazeppa Mazepa or Mazeppa is the surname of Ivan Mazepa, a Ukrainian hetman made famous worldwide by a poem by Lord Byron. It may refer to: Artistic works Poems * Mazeppa (poem), "Mazeppa" (poem) (1819), a dramatic poem by Lord Byron * "Mazeppa", a poem b ...

, Millville, Minneiska (partial) Ostrander, Peterson,

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tra ...

, Rushford Village, West Concord, Whalan, Wykoff, Zumbro Falls. * Unincorporated places:

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

Simpson Simpson may refer to: * Simpson (name), a British surname Organizations Schools *Simpson College, in Indianola, Iowa *Simpson University, in Redding, California Businesses *Simpson (appliance manufacturer), former manufacturer and brand of w ...

, South Troy,

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Berne Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the '' de facto'' capital of Switzerland, referred to as the " federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has governmental i ...

, Salem Corners,

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, Pleasant Grove,

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Post Town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

, Danesville

Townships

* Townships with more than 2,500 inhabitants:

Cascade Cascade, or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science * Air shower (physics), a cascade (particle shower) of subatomic particles and ionized nuclei ** Particle shower, a cascade of secondary particles produced as the result of a high ...

Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

, Plainview, Rochester. * Townships with 1,000 to 2,500 inhabitants: Grand Meadow,

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Places Canada * Greenfield, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Greenfield, Colchester County, Nova Scotia * Greenfield, Hants County, Nova Scotia * Greenfield, Kings County, Nova Scotia * Greenfield, Q ...

, Haverhill,

High Forest A high forest is a type of forest originated from seed or from planted seedlings. In contrast to a low forest (also known as a coppice forest), a high forest usually consists of large, tall mature trees with a closed canopy. High forests can occu ...

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 41,388 inhabitants in 2020 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

, Mantorville,

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, Oronoco,

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

. * Townships with 500 to 1,000 inhabitants: Canisteo,

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...

, Gillford,

, Milton,

Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...

, Pleasant Grove, Rock Dell, Vernon,

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

Wasioja Wasioja Township is a township in Dodge County, Minnesota. The population was 963 at the time of the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Wasioja is located within the township. Wasioja Township was organized in 1858. Wasioja is the nat ...

, Zumbro. * Townships with less than 500 inhabitants: Ashland,

, Ellington, Elmira, Eyota,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Hayfield,

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

, Hyde Park,

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

, Minneiska, Mount Pleasant, Oakwood, Pepin, Quincy,

, Ripley, Watopa, West Albany, Westfield.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 163,618 people, 62,504 households, and 43,046 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 92.01%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.09%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.25% Native American, 3.34% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.99% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.35% of the population. The median income for a household in the MSA was $46,957, and the median income for a family was $55,450. Males had a median income of $35,815 versus $26,738 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the MSA was $21,287.

Transportation

Highways

Interstate Highways

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

US Highways

* U.S. Highway 14 *

U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major U.S. Highway in the Central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows a north ...

U.S. Highway 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designat ...

* U.S. Highway 63 *

U.S. Highway 218 U.S. Highway 218 (US 218) is an original United States Highway that was created in 1926. Although technically a spur of U.S. Route 18, US 18, US 218 neither begins nor ends at US 18, but overlaps US 18 for near Charles ...

''(briefly runs through Dodge County)''

Minnesota State Highways

Minnesota State Highway 16 Minnesota State Highway 16 (MN 16) is an two-lane highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its Interchange (road), interchange with Interstate 90 in Minnesota, Interstate Highway 90 in Dexter, Minnesota, Dexter and continues east to its ...

Minnesota State Highway 30 Minnesota State Highway 30 (MN 30) is a highway in southwest and southeast Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 34 at the South Dakota state line near Airlie, west of Pipestone, and continues to its eastern terminus at its in ...

Minnesota State Highway 42 Minnesota State Highway 42 (MN 42) is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 90 near Eyota and continues north and northeast to its northern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highway 61 i ...

Minnesota State Highway 43 Minnesota State Highway 43 (MN 43) is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 44 in Mabel and continues north to its northern terminus at the Wisconsin state line at Winona, where it becomes Wisco ...

* Minnesota State Highway 44 *

Minnesota State Highway 56 Minnesota State Highway 56 (MN 56) is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 63 near the Iowa state line and Chester, Iowa, and continues north to its northern terminus at its junction with ...

Minnesota State Highway 57 Minnesota State Highway 57 (MN 57) is a state highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its Interchange (road), interchange with U.S. Route 14, U.S. Highway 14 in the city of Kasson, Minnesota, Kasson and continues north to its nort ...

Minnesota State Highway 60 Trunk Highway 60 (MN 60) is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 60 at the Iowa state line (at Bigelow) and continues east-northeast to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (at Wabasha), where the ro ...

Minnesota State Highway 74 Minnesota State Highway 74 (MN 74) is a highway in southeast Minnesota that runs from its Intersection (road), intersection with U.S. Route 52 in Minnesota, U.S. Highway 52 and Minnesota State Highway 30, State Highway 30 in Chatfield, Min ...

Minnesota State Highway 80 Minnesota State Highway 80 (MN 80) is a two-lane highway in southeast Minnesota that runs from its intersection with State Highway 16 near Wykoff and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highway 52 at Fou ...

* Minnesota State Highway 139 *

Minnesota State Highway 247 Minnesota State Highway 247 (MN 247) is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 63 in Farmington Township, north of Rochester; and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection w ...

Minnesota State Highway 250 Minnesota State Highway 250 (MN 250) is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 16 in Lanesboro and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 30 in Arendahl ...

Public Airports

Commercial

Rochester International Airport Rochester International Airport is an international airport located south of downtown Rochester in Olmsted County, Minnesota. It is the second-busiest airport in Minnesota. Its name used to be "Rochester Municipal Airport", before adding cu ...

General Aviation

Dodge Center Airport Dodge Center Municipal Airport is a public airport located one mile from the central business district of Dodge Center a city in Dodge County, Minnesota, United States. The airport is publicly owned by the city of Dodge Center. See also *Lis ...

Fillmore County Airport Fillmore County Airport , is a public use airport located close to Preston, a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. It is owned by Fillmore County. The county acquired land for the airport in 1967. A 3200 feet turf runway opened ...

* Rushford Municipal Airport

Government and politics

Federal Representation

All of the Rochester metropolitan area falls in

Minnesota's 1st Congressional District Minnesota's 1st congressional district spans southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. It is a primarily rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, though this is changing rapidly due to pop ...

, represented by Republican

Brad Finstad Bradley Howard Finstad (born May 30, 1976) is an American politician, farmer, and agricultural consultant serving as the U.S. representative for since 2022. Finstad represents a large section of southern Minnesota situated along the border with ...

State Senate Legislators

The following list shows the Rochester metropolitan area's representation in the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any State legislature (Unite ...

References

{{Great Lakes Megalopolis Olmsted County, Minnesota Geography of Dodge County, Minnesota Wabasha County, Minnesota Mower County, Minnesota Fillmore County, Minnesota Dodge County, Minnesota