Best PlacesCentral Ave, Albany, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central Ave, Albany, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Central Ave, Albany ranks 4,140th 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 Central Ave, 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.
Central Ave, Albany's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central Ave, Albany ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Central Ave, Albany ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central Ave, Albany
A household needs to earn about $125,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central Ave, Albany home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $47,263, 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 Central Ave, Albany's effective rate of 2.23%, 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 Central Ave, Albany
Central Ave, 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 Central Ave, Albany.
Who works in Central Ave, Albany, and how
Work in Central Ave, Albany centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 39%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 47%
Life in Central Ave, Albany
Central Ave, Albany has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Central Ave, Albany and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central Ave, Albany, month by month
Central Ave, 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 Central Ave, Albany
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around Central Ave, Albany
Schools across Central Ave, Albany average a B, better than 80% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Thomas S O'brien Academy Of Science & TechnologyB · 48% proficient
- Sheridan Preparatory AcademyC+ · 38% proficient
- Giffen Memorial Elementary SchoolC− · 28% 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 Central Ave, Albany school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central Ave, 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 Central Ave, Albany against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central Ave, Albany
Is Central Ave, Albany a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central Ave, Albany ranks 4,140th 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 Central Ave, Albany expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $400,024. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $47,263 median income, cost of living beats 20% of neighborhoods.
Is Central Ave, Albany safe?
Central Ave, Albany is safer than 10% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $928 per resident a year.
Compare Central Ave, Albany with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central Ave, Albany. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central Ave, 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.
Central Ave, Albany detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central Ave, Albany: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central Ave, Albany: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central Ave, Albany: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central Ave, Albany: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central Ave, 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.