The city has the following neighborhoods: The Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi and Wyandot peoples all resided in the Rochester area.

[7] The city became an industrial center with abundant water power from the Clinton River and Paint Creek.

The interconnected waterways are no longer used for travel or local industry, but provide natural beauty, some fishing, and a healthy portion of the Clinton Watershed.

Historically, past industries formerly located in Rochester included a refinery for sugar beets, a paper products company, and the Western Knitting Mills factory, which was later adapted and utilized during World War II for incendiary production—businesses that no longer exist in the area.

Chapman Mill Pond, east of downtown, disappeared into the Paint Creek when the dam broke during the flood of 1946.

The reclaimed land is the site of the current post office, Rochester Hills library, and Olde Towne Road.

Michigan became the 26th state in 1837, and the Village of Rochester was formed on April 12, 1869, within the boundaries of Avon Township.

[8] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.82 square miles (9.89 km2), all land.

[9] Since an annexation of a section of Avon Township (now Rochester Hills), the city has an eastern boundary that extends to the border with Macomb County.

Twenty-two buildings on Main Street are more than 50 years old, and several are on the State Register of Historic Places.

Other scheduled, traditional civic celebrations and activities include Girls' Night Out, the Gallery Walk, Lagniappe, the Sidewalk Sales, Movies In The Moonlight, and the two-day Fire And Ice Festival.

The popular Rockin' Rods classic car show each August features hundreds of rare and unusual automobiles, both domestic and imported.

[20] The main campus buildings are located in the nearby but not adjacent city of Auburn Hills.