Income

Annual Income, 1999 (US Census Bureau)

Earnings by Family

As the fourth largest city in New Hampshire, Rochester combines the tight-knit feel of a small town with the resources and convenience of a larger city.  This unique balance, as well as low costs, the absence of sales and income taxes, and a crime rate well below the national average, helped the city rank fifteenth overall in Business Development Outlook Magazine's 2004 quality of life analysis.  The rankings, which appeared in the magazine’s September 2004 issue, were based on data from the U.S. Census, Sperling’s Best Places, and Fast Facility.

Quality of Life

When planning your new business, location is critical.  The conditions of a community and its economic environment can impact businesses in either a positive or negative manner, making quality of life a major business concern.  If you’ve ever had to relocate, you know firsthand how serious these issues can be.

So what is the significance of a high quality of life ranking?  While many communities boast a high quality of life, not all of them can back up their claim with statistics and rankings.  In recent years, standard quality of life measures have been established to use along with the traditional values.  Economic data, health and housing costs, quality of education, crime rates, transportation, arts, culture, and recreation are among the factors considered in the compilation of the nation’s best places to live.

Today, many businesses are opting for premier quality of life locations like Rochester, NH that offer a lower cost of living, a pleasant environment, and a less stressful atmosphere than an urban area.  Locations such as Rochester foster productive businesses because they allow employees to focus on business objectives and priorities rather than issues relating to less than ideal surroundings.  Rochester’s widely recognized high quality of life and supportive environment may make it the perfect place for your business to flourish.

Rochester lies a mere hour and a half away from Boston, the commercial and cultural hub of New England, and an hour away from the burgeoning city of Portland, ME.  Transportation is simple in the Seacoast region’s largest city, which has six direct exits along the Spaulding Turnpike.  The turnpike intersects with I-95, providing a fast route for the transportation of products and resources.  Route 202 also runs through Rochester, connecting with Concord to the west and Portland, ME to the east, as does Route 125, which will bring you to New Hampshire’s largest city, Manchester.

To help local manufacturers transfer materials and products more effectively, Rochester’s industrial parks were planned with quick and easy transportation in mind. 

• Ten Rod Road Industrial Park, off Exit 14 on the Spaulding Turnpike, has convenient and expansive
  turnpike frontage.
• Granite State Business Park is adjacent to Route 16 and only a short distance from the highway.  It has
  access to the New Hampshire Northcoast rail line on the east side of the park and Skyhaven Airport to the
  west of the park.
• Gonic Industrial Park is in the village of Gonic (the southwestern area of Rochester) and has access to
  Exit 12 of the Spaulding Turnpike.
• New Hampshire Northcoast Industrial Park is located in the isolated northern region of Rochester, an
  ideal area for heavy industries.  It is bisected by the New Hampshire Northcoast rail line.
• Brady Sullivan Industrial Park is off Exit 16 of the Spaulding Turnpike and also has direct access to the New Hampshire Northcoast rail line.           
• Gerrity Industrial Park also has direct access to the Boston and Maine Railroad and is near Spaulding
  Turnpike Exit 16.
• Gonic Brickyard is 7/10 mile from Exit 12 of the Spaulding Turnpike.
• Spaulding Ave Industrial (SAI) is easily accessible from major highways and interstates. SAI is located on Rt. 125 in Rochester, just 3 miles from the Spaulding Turnpike, which connects to I-95 at Portsmouth NH. SAI is less than an hour to Boston MA.

The city’s easy access to rail provides an alternate means of transporting goods and raw materials.  Granite State Business Park, Brady Sullivan Business Park Park, and Gerrity Industrial Park all have direct rail access.

In addition, Rochester is close to the Manchester Boston Regional Airport and Pease International Tradeport in Newington.  The Tradeport is home to Portsmouth International Airport (PSM) and is conveniently located off Interstate 95, just 50 miles from the major cities of Boston, Portland, and Manchester. PSM provides a new international/domestic passenger terminal and offers free parking, no traffic hassles and all the amenities of a small New England town.

Public transportation is provided by COAST (Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation) buses, which connect Rochester with neighboring communities.  C&J Trailways provides bus service from Dover, Durham, and Portsmouth to various destinations in Boston.  Feliciano Limousine has been in business since 1985 serving the seacoast and surrounding areas. The company offers an array of luxury transportation in Lincoln Executive Sedans, Vans, Stretch Limousines, Super Stretch Limousines, and a 20 Passenger Limo Coach. Currently, Feliciano has the newest and largest limousines in the seacoast area. So the company may accommodate clients' needs, the operation is open 24 hours, 7 days a week.  Greyhound and Vermont Transit Lines also provide service from Portsmouth, and Amtrak’s Downeaster commuter train stops in Dover and Durham on its way to Portland and Boston.

Industrial Parks

Rochester has eight multi-business industrial sites with a variety of uses and amenities.  Buildings and lots are available now – for more information on renting or buying property, or search one of the following online real estate databases:

NH Business Resource Center Real Estate Database – Comprehensive listings for buildings, sites, and industrial parks posted by reputable real estate professionals.  The City of Rochester encourages local realtors to use this tool for their listings.

NH CIBOR Property Search – Search properties for sale by NH CIBOR approved realtors.

Loopnet – Online commercial real estate database.

Granite State Business Park is a 250+ acre, multi-use commercial and industrial park.  Planned by Matarazzo Design of Concord, NH, the park is designed logically and comprehensively with an emphasis on convenience and flexibility.  The site is intended for light and heavy manufacturing, research and development, warehousing and distribution, office space and service use.  Amenities include natural gas, on-site airport and railroad access and new water, sanitary and utility systems.  GSBP is the most recent addition to Rochester’s collection of industrial parks and currently houses over 350 employees at the following companies: 

• Rand Whitney - Owned by Bob Kraft of New England Patriots fame, is the largest and oldest packaging 
  company in New England.  The Worcester, MA based company employs over 60 laborers in Rochester.
• Albany International Techniweave - A growing force in the research, development and manufacture of 
  advance composite materials for aerospace and military applications.  Employs over 145 workers in
  Rochester.
• Granite State Plating - Custom plating and coating applications, both large and small scale; employs 15.
• Phase II Medical - FDA registered and ISO 9001 certified, Phase II Medical designs, tests, manufactures,
  packages, and ships a broad array of disposable medical devices.  Employs over 50 in Rochester.
• Horne Construction - This award-winning general contractor and design-build firm works with both new and rehabilitated retail environments throughout Maine and New Hampshire.  Their own facility is an excellent example of their skills and abilities.  Horne employs over 45 employees at their Rochester firm.
• Frisbie Medical Center Record Storage Facility - Frisbie Medical Center, Rochester’s 100 bed hospital, enjoys the convenience of a record storage facility just a mile away at GSBP.
• SpecTex - Formed in 2001, SpecTex performs converting services for major companies in
  apparel, automotive, medical and other industries.  Products include bumpers, filters, ink pads, lubricators, protective and orthopedic pads, seals and washers.

Ten Rod Road Industrial Park consists of 73.8 acres and boasts significant highway frontage.  This expansive and conveniently located park is able to accommodate large and small companies with office space, manufacturing and research and development areas.

• Ashland Electric - Specializes in the design and manufacture of electronics, instrumentation, 
  communication, propulsion products, and advanced engineering services.  Employs 15 in Rochester.
• Laars Technologies - An innovative manufacturer of gas heating systems.  This employer of 145 workers 
  has been creating products for both residential and commercial use for over 50 years.  Laars’ Rochester
  site also functions as their corporate headquarters.
• Eastern Propane & Oil (Corporate Headquarters) - One of the largest privately-owned propane marketers in the country; provides residential, commercial, and industrial services.  Between its two Rochester facilities, Eastern Propane employs 160.
• eCoast Sales Solutions - A sales and marketing company focused on creating business opportunities in
  the data, voice, and storage networking technology sector.
• Strafford County Board of Realtors - Monitors professionalism and ethics in the real estate occupation while providing resources and support to the county’s realtors.

New Hampshire Northcoast Industrial Park is an ideal location for heavier industries due to its isolated location and superior rail access.

• Ossipee Aggregates - Supplier of sand and gravel.
• Eastern Propane & Oil - One of the largest privately-owned propane marketers in the country; provides
  residential, commercial, and industrial services.
• New Hampshire Northcoast Corporation - This major railroad company uses its namesake park as a
  staging area for their operations.

Gonic Industrial Park was one of Rochester’s first industrial parks and continues to be useful today.  Manufacturing companies tend to be the most comfortable here.

• Liberty Research - Machine tool facility with approximately 50 workers; global leader in the manufacture of
  turned and milled metal components.
• Spaulding Composites - Manufacturer and fabricator of high-quality engineered composite materials and
  components, including insulation tubing.  Employs 80.
• Textile Tapes - Manufacturer of shoe laces and specialty tapes.
• Oasis Alignment Services - North America’s leading provider of optical alignment and machine services. 
  The Rochester- based company employs 30.
• Odyssey Press Inc. - Specializes in the production of books, journals, and article reprints in quantities of up to 500 copies.

Gerrity Business & Industrial Park, located in a mixed use area close to Rochester’s downtown, is a 23.6 acre site abutted by the Boston and Maine Railroad on the west side of the property.  It currently houses a number of small, thriving businesses and yet to be developed lots.

• Witway Supply - Family-owned wholesale plumbing and heating supplier.
• Hellenic Candle - Custom manufacturer of candles.
• Fastenal - Fastest growing full-line industrial distributor and largest fastener distributor nationwide; leader in industrial and construction supplies.
• Cleary Cleaners Inc. - Dry cleaning and maintenance services.
• A-D Archambault Plumbing & Heating Inc. - Commercial and residential plumbing, heating, mechanical and water heating services.
• Athletic Innovation - Athletic wear and protection gear.
  

Brady Sullivan Industrial Park offers 35.47 acres of office/R&D space and manufacturing/warehouse space in a strategic location off Exit 16 of the Spaulding Turnpike.

• Stonewall Kitchen  - Warehouse and distribution for award-winning, nationally distributed specialty foods.
• Bri-Lin Inc. - Innovator in pressure seal technology; offers small office, production processing and 
  automated infinity solutions.
• NE Nonwovens - Leading manufacturer of engineered non-woven fabrics and composite materials.
• Irving Oil - Founded in 1924 by K.C. Irving, Irving Oil is a family-owned and privately-held regional energy processing, transporting, and marketing company.

Turnkey Recycling & Environmental Enterprise (TREE) Industrial Park is a 1,216 acre, environmentally safe property owned by Waste Management.  The company offers short- and long-term leases and provides its tenants with landfill gas, a cheap and efficient alternative energy resource.  This “green” industrial park also includes a 100 acre Forest Management Area, a 199 acre landfill, the Mount Isinglas Recreational Area, and a Material Recovery Facility.   

The Rochester School District is composed of eight elementary schools, the Rochester Middle School, and Spaulding High School, all of which have high expectations for both their students and faculty.  All of Rochester’s schools maintain a low student/teacher ratio and strive for excellence.  The school administrations and the Rochester School Board (2004’s New Hampshire School Board of the Year) collaborate with parents and teachers to continually improve the schools’ curriculums with an emphasis on high reading performance.  This effort has increased communication and established the district as the leader in the use of data to improve student performance.

Spaulding High School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is approved by the New Hampshire Department of Education.  The school stresses career and educational development, problem solving, civic and social responsibility, personal wellness, and essential knowledge while graduating 78% of its students.  In addition to the main high school building, Spaulding has the Richard W. Creteau Regional Technology Center, which specializes in career preparation and training.  The Center cooperates with local industries, working with both high school students and adult workers to create a skilled and productive workforce.  The mission of Granite State College is to create and deliver innovative programming in curriculum and methods based on community needs and statewide higher education. They have a branch located in Rochester that offers degree, certificate and contract programs in the following fields: Applied Technology, Behavioral Science, Criminal Justice, Computing and Information Technology, Early Childhood Education, Health Care, Management, Self Design and Teacher Education Programs.  Graduate Programs are also offered. 

Rochester is also a short commute away from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, Daniel Webster College and Hesser College in Portsmouth, and Great Bay Community College at Pease International Tradeport in Newington.

Approximately one in five adult Rochester residents have graduated from a two or four year college.