Best PlacesCenter Square, Albany, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Center Square, Albany, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Center Square, Albany ranks 1,924th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Center Square, Albany
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.
Center Square, Albany's strengths and weaknesses
Where Center Square, Albany ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Center Square, Albany ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Center Square, Albany
A household needs to earn about $109,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Center Square, Albany home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,471, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Center Square, Albany's effective rate of 2.46%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Center Square, Albany
Center Square, Albany runs younger than the country, 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 Center Square, Albany.
Who works in Center Square, Albany, and how
Work in Center Square, Albany centers on public administration and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 43%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 41%
Life in Center Square, Albany
Center Square, Albany has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Center Square, Albany and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Center Square, Albany, month by month
Center Square, Albany sees roughly 67 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 Center Square, Albany
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around Center Square, Albany
Schools across Center Square, Albany average a B+, better than 83% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Thomas S O'brien Academy Of Science & TechnologyB · 48% proficient
- Sheridan Preparatory AcademyC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- William S Hackett Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Albany High SchoolA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Center Square, Albany school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Center Square, Albany 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 Center Square, Albany against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Center Square, Albany
Is Center Square, Albany a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Center Square, Albany ranks 1,924th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, transit, and walkability, and lowest on property taxes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Center Square, Albany expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $338,571. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $59,471 median income, cost of living beats 40% of neighborhoods.
Is Center Square, Albany safe?
Yes, Center Square, Albany is safer than 56% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $420 per resident a year.
Compare Center Square, Albany with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Center Square, Albany. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Center Square, Albany 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.
Center Square, Albany detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Center Square, Albany: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Center Square, Albany: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Center Square, Albany: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Center Square, Albany: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Center Square, Albany 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.
- 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.