Rochester, which was the 18th largest city in the nation back in 1960, has fallen to No. 100 in population, according to the census data.
Our city shrunk by 9,208 people in the most recent decade, reaching a population of 210,565 in 2010.
Rochester is now closest in population to Birmingham, AL; San Bernadino, CA; and Spokane, WA.

Many people who think of themselves as “from Rochester” actually live in the towns and villages that surround the city, so our identity is closely tied to the county and the region.

The 2010 census data offer an updated glimpse of who we’re like — which counties in the nation are most similar in population to Monroe County, which ranked as the 76th largest in 2010, down from 68th a decade earlier.
Monroe County’s population of 744,344 is most similar to Essex County, Mass. (home to Salem), Jefferson County, Ky. (Louisville), and Multnomah County, Ore. (Portland), according to the first wave of the latest census data.
Louisville and Portland have central rivers, like Rochester, while Essex County in northeastern Massachusetts is on the coast.

Beyond population and water, the like-sized counties are quite different from Monroe. The cities of Louisville and Portland are about three times the size of Rochester, while Salem is about the size of Henrietta. The three grew more than Monroe County in the past decade, ranging from 3 percent in Essex County to 11 percent in Multnomah County, while Monroe County’s population rose 1 percent.

The three like-sized counties have all gone through government consolidation efforts — which has been a touchy subject in the Rochester area — with differing results.

Essex County, whose claim to fame is the Salem witch trials of 1692, was among many county governments abolished in Massachusetts between 1997 and 1999. Their functions were turned over to state agencies. People still staff the county courthouses and voters still elect county sheriffs — but those and other services are funded by the state, and the employees report to the state. Counties in Massachusetts had never provided many regional services and were found to be inefficient, which led to the changes, said Geoff Beckwith, executive director of Massachusetts Municipal Association. His in-laws are from the Rochester region and his son attends the University of Rochester.

Louisville merged its government with Jefferson County in 2003. Earlier votes failed in 1956, 1982 and 1983. The final proposal passed because it preserved 83 of the county’s once-94 suburban cities, rather than abolishing them, said Phil Miller, a spokesman for Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. The Louisville Metro Council has 26 elected members — more than the previous total of city alderman and county commissioners.

Oregon voters back in 1968 approved allowing consolidated city-county governments when their population is more than 300,000, which would only apply to Portland/Multnomah County. No merger has occurred. But in the 1970s, a three-county area that includes Portland and 25 other cities created an additional, elected regional government — unique nationwide — that focuses on regional planning, conservation, sustainability, recycling and other issues that cross local boundaries. That Metro Council currently has a president and six councilors.

Despite the changes, all of the areas still have a lot of governmental units, as measured by the latest census of governments. The 2007 count includes cities, towns, villages, school districts and certain special districts. According to that count, Monroe County has 74. Essex County, Mass., has 88. Jefferson County, Ky., has 112. Multnomah County, Ore., has 43. (The Census Bureau says its count included water, fire, library and mosquito abatement districts “and so on.”)

“It shows you the challenge of consolidating small local entities that the public has gotten used to having,” said Charles Zettek Jr., vice president and director of government management services at the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester.

Monroe County voters rejected converting to one metro police force in the 1980s. Former Democratic Rochester Mayor William A. Johnson Jr. promoted city-county consolidation for years, but lost the race for Monroe County executive in 2003 to then-county clerk Maggie Brooks, a Republican. Brooks endorses cooperating on services such as water or information technology but said in an interview Wednesday that eliminating governments wouldn’t change the costly need to provide services to residents. More recently, some smaller mergers have failed. In June, for example, Brockport voters rejected dissolving the village and becoming part of the town of Sweden.

None of Monroe’s like-sized counties are places usually mentioned along with the Rochester area. Hearing of the population connection, some local young professionals said the link makes them think of the Rochester area on a different level.

“We’re not some Podunk, upstate town,” said Jeremy Cooney, 29, of Rochester, chairman of We Live NY, a statewide group looking to attract and retain young talent in New York state. The comparisons to counties with bigger cities make him think that Monroe could play a bigger role in the state and the country. “It’s a pride point.”

Tate DeCaro, 31, of Pittsford agreed that ranking so close to those other counties is a mental boost. “I have Portland in my mind as a place that’s really happening,” she said. “I think this area gets stuck on comparing itself to places that are close, like Buffalo and Syracuse.”
Monroe County’s executive said the counties around Buffalo and Syracuse share common problems with Monroe, so are a logical reference point. But it’s also interesting to look farther afield, Brooks said. As the president of the County Executives of America, Brooks said, she’s been struck by the different configurations around the country. County executives in Texas must be judges, for example, while in Tennessee there are county mayors. Regardless of the details, county governments have common challenges such as paying for Medicaid and funding roads and quality of life services, she said.

Patti Donoghue, vice president of communications and community affiliations at VisitRochester, said the way other similar-sized counties run their governments “gives food for thought.” But in her work promoting Rochester for meetings, conventions and tourism, she looks at closer competitors such as Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and some parts of Pennsylvania.

Each place has its own character and claims to fame.

The Rochester area is known for Kodak, photography, lilacs, the University of Rochester and Wegmans.

Besides the witch trials, Essex County in Massachusetts is home to Gloucester’s fishing community (the story of its 1991 destructive storm was told in The Perfect Storm book and movie) and Lawrence’s labor history (the nation’s first labor strike was in Lawrence), said Kate Fox, executive director of Destination Salem.

Jefferson County is known for the Kentucky Derby, the Louisville Slugger factory and museum, and boxer Muhammad Ali.

The Portland area ranks high for its public transportation, food and sustainability. It’s also known for its high number of breweries and rainy days.
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