Best PlacesAlbany County, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Albany County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Albany County ranks 149th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $95,943, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, noise, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Albany County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Albany County
The parts of Albany County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Schenectady & Altamont
Local pay stretches further, crime runs lower, and fewer homes sit empty.
Westmere, Voorheesville & Guilderland
Tree cover is thicker, though streets are more car-dependent.
Colonie
Incomes run higher and more residents vote.
Delmar, Glenmont & Selkirk
More households have young kids, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
Slingerlands
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Albany
Scores close to Slingerlands, except that commutes are shorter here.
Cohoes, Watervliet & Latham
Fewer adults hold degrees.
Menands
Schools score lower and health care is harder to reach.
Albany County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 4% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Albany County's strengths and weaknesses
Albany County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Transit is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Walkability and an educated workforce follow.
The one real hole is property taxes, near the bottom of the country. Noise and childcare costs also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Albany County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of counties
- BikingBetter than 96% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of counties
Where Albany County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 6% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Albany County
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Albany County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,943, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Albany County's effective rate of 1.72%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Albany County
Albany County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Albany County.
Who works in Albany County, and how
Work in Albany County centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Albany County
Albany County has more parkland per resident than 66% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 94% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Albany County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Albany County growing, and who is moving in?
Albany County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Albany, NY metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Albany County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Albany County, month by month
Albany County sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 27° | 18° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Albany County
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 77 miles away.
The best schools in and around Albany County
Schools across Albany County average a B+, better than 94% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Birchwood Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Elsmere Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Boght Hills SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bell AcademyA+ · 78% proficient
- Voorheesville Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Howard L Goff SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Bethlehem Central Senior High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Niskayuna High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Shaker High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Albany County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Albany County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Albany County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Albany County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Albany County
Is Albany County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Albany County ranks 149th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and an educated workforce, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Albany County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $300,192. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $95,943 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Albany County safe?
Yes, Albany County is safer than 81% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $300 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Albany County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 18. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 16% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Albany County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Schenectady & Altamont, Westmere, Voorheesville & Guilderland, and Colonie. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Albany County good for families?
Schools beat 94% of counties, crime safety beats 81%, and childcare runs $1,308 a month.
Is Albany County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 29% of counties. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare Albany County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Albany County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Albany County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Albany County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Albany County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Albany County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Albany County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Albany County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Albany County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.