100 best places to live and launch

Population: 215,119
Pro: Pro-business city government
Con: Pockets of high crime and poverty

Metropolitan Rochester wants your business: The city offers four matching grant programs, a number of low-interest loans, and other incentives for small businesses. Eastman Kodak and Bausch & Lomb maintain headquarters in town and Xerox runs a major branch, opening opportunities for small business living in their ecosystems.

Nineteen colleges and universities, including the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology, provide an educated workforce. Parts of the city suffer from high crime and poverty rates, but Rochester remains a good place to raise a family -- thanks, in part, to good schools. A downtown waterfront revival effort promises to enhance the city's already abundant recreational offerings. -Peter McDougall

Interactive map: Rochester, N.Y.
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