<Tr> <Th> GNIS feature ID </Th> <Td> 0962684 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> www.cityofrochester.gov </Td> </Tr> <P> Rochester (/ ˈrɒtʃɪstər, ˈrɒtʃɛstər /) is a city on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in western New York . With a population of 208,046 residents, Rochester is the seat of Monroe County and the third most populous city in New York state, after New York City and Buffalo . The metropolitan area has a population of just over 1 million people . </P> <P> Rochester was America's first boomtown, initially due to the fertile Genesee River Valley, which gave rise to numerous flour mills, and then as a manufacturing hub . Several of the region's universities (notably the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology) have renowned research programs . Rochester is the site of many important inventions and innovations in consumer products . The Rochester area has been the birthplace to Kodak, Western Union, Bausch & Lomb, Gleason and Xerox, which conduct extensive research and manufacturing of industrial and consumer products . Until 2010, the Rochester metropolitan area was the second - largest regional economy in New York State, after the New York City metropolitan area . Rochester's GMP has since ranked just below that of Buffalo, New York, while still exceeding it in per - capita income . </P>

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