Rochester's list of nicknames is impressive. Throughout its history, it has been called the "Flower City," "Flour City," "World's Image Center," and "Photonics Capital of the World." Many of these names come from the two impressive research institutions of the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology, though they are also derived in part from the manufacturing corporations born there (Kodak and Xerox). Rochester is a widely awarded city for its livability standards. Expansion Magazine gave Rochester the number one spot for overall quality of life in 2007, and Forbes rated Rochester the third best place to raise a family in 2010. Rochester's climate varies pretty extensively. Though temperatures rise to 80 degrees or more in the summer, they also drop well below freezing in the winter. Part of this weather involves copious amounts of snow. Rochester's total annual precipitation is 34 inches, but its average annual snowfall is almost 100 inches. Roughly 40% of its precipitation days are snowy days, and the city only experiences half of its total possible sunshine.
Rochester's demographics have seen some substantial changes over the last 70 years. Since 1940, the population has dropped by more than 100,000 residents. The most recent census data indicates that Rochester's population is currently 210,565 people, down from more than 320,000 in the middle of the century. Economically, Rochester is probably most well-known for its imaging and optical science research and industries, programs which both University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology offer.
Culturally, Rochester hosts a number of festivals each year. One of the largest jazz festivals in the country each year is the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, which hosted a record 196,000 people in 2014. Other festivals include the world's oldest short-film festival, the Rochester International Film Festival; an annual art festival, the Park Avenue Festival; and the Lilac Festival, designed to celebrate Rochester's heritage as the "Flower City."
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