Rochester, MN: how dark is the sky here?

Rochester's sky measures suburban here. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Rochester's sky is brighter than 66.6% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

This comes from a satellite measuring light radiating upward, not a person's eyes on the ground, so it isn't the same as a Bortle class, though the two track each other closely.

Where to go for a darker sky near Rochester

Red Wing, MN, about 40 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the dark sky band, one step darker than Rochester. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Red Wing, MN is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

How Rochester compares nationally

About 123,624 people live in Rochester, MN, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Rochester places 2,122 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.