“The City of Rochester is committed to a community where all members feel a sense of belonging. We commit to recognizing the diversity of our community members, listening to ALL voices and providing equitable services to create an inclusive place to live, play and work.

We believe EQUITY should be at the center of all our work. We strive to represent our community in our teammates, as we know that diverse and inclusive teams are more innovative, and have an empowering impact on the work, progress and culture of our community.

We recognize that we reside on the land of Indigenous People. We commit to learning, repairing harm, and honoring the Indigenous communities that cared for the land before us.

We acknowledge the racial, economic and social disparities that exist in our community, and commit to engaging in personal and systemic changes to impact these disparities. We commit to educating ourselves on inequities to better provide services to our community. We promise to lead by example and hold ourselves accountable.

It takes us all working together.”

The City of Rochester is located in Southeast Minnesota and is the third largest city in the state. Data collected by the United States Census indicates that the City has 121,395 residents. The City’s largest industry is Healthcare, with Mayo Clinic as the largest employer. The City has great diversity, with a large number of migrant and immigrant community members. A snapshot of the Cities diversity can be summarized as follows;

• 73.2% of residents are white and 26.8% are BIPOC residents
• 14.1% of residents are foreign born
• 82% of residents speak English only, and 18.7% speak a language other than English
• 16% of residents are age 65 and older
• 12.4% of residents have a disability
• 6% of residents are veterans
• 7.4% of residents below poverty level by income
• Age data* - Important to note that data for age 18 and below indicates a large shift in race and ethnicity data (Approximately 40% BIPOC in RPS school district)

Detailed additional information can be found HERE.