Economy of Rochester

Rochester is home to a number of international businesses, including Eastman Kodak, Bausch and Lomb, Rochester Midland Corporation and Paychex, all of which make Rochester their world headquarters. Xerox, while no longer headquartered in Rochester, has its principal offices and manufacturing facilities in the Rochester area. Because of the high prevalence of imaging and optical science among the industry and the universities, Rochester is known as the world capital of imaging.

The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester is ranked number one in the country, and the Rochester Institute of Technology has one of the best imaging science departments in the country. In 2005, the University of Rochester became the largest employer in the Rochester area, surpassing Kodak.

Rochester is also home to regional businesses such as Frontier Telephone of Rochester, Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., Roberts Communications, Inc., The Sutherland Group, PAETEC Communications and major fashion label Hickey-Freeman. The Gannett newspaper company and Western Union were both founded in the Rochester area by Frank Gannett and Hiram Sibley respectively.

Nick Tahou Hots, creator of the world-famous garbage plate, also calls Rochester home. One food that Rochester is proud to call its own is the famous “white hot,” made by the local Zweigle’s company which can be found at any of the 4 locations of a local franchise called Schaller’s.

The area takes the most pride in the Wegmans Grocery store chain, which now has locations throughout the Northeast and Northern Virginia, and was most recently rated the #2 best company in America to work for by Forbes Magazine, having fallen from #1 in 2005. Other local franchises include: Bill Gray’s (a summertime hamburger/hotdog joint that lays claim to having “The World’s Greatest Cheeseburger”), and Abbott’s Frozen Custard.

Major area shopping centers

Eastview Mall (Victor, New York)
The Mall at Greece Ridge Center (Greece, New York)
Medley Centre (formerly known as Irondequoit Mall) (Irondequoit, New York)
Rochester Public Market
Village Gate Square
The Marketplace (Henrietta, New York)
Midtown Plaza
Pittsford Plaza (Pittsford, New York)

Top 5 employers

As of 2005, the top employers in the city are:
University of Rochester/Strong Health 17,000
Eastman Kodak 16,235
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.
Xerox
ViaHealth