Best PlacesEast Albany, Albany, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East Albany, 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.
East Albany, Albany ranks 2,257th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in East Albany, 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.
East Albany, Albany's strengths and weaknesses
Where East Albany, Albany ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where East Albany, Albany ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in East Albany, Albany
A household needs to earn about $97,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Albany, Albany home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $86,629; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 East Albany, Albany's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in East Albany, Albany
East Albany, Albany runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for East Albany, Albany.
Who works in East Albany, Albany, and how
Work in East Albany, Albany centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in East Albany, Albany
East Albany, Albany has more parkland per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of East Albany, Albany and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in East Albany, Albany, month by month
East Albany, Albany sees roughly 102 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 41° | 34° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 68° | 53° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of East Albany, Albany
The nearest airport, McNary Field, is about 19 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around East Albany, Albany
Schools across East Albany, Albany average a C, better than 35% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Meadow Ridge ElementaryB · 45% proficient
- Oak Elementary SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Waverly Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Albany Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Timber Ridge SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Memorial Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- West Albany High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- South Albany High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every East Albany, Albany school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
East Albany, 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 East Albany, Albany against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in East Albany, Albany
Is East Albany, Albany a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Albany, Albany ranks 2,257th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low crime, few empty homes, and a strong job market, and lowest on internet speeds and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Albany, Albany expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $378,692. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $86,629 median income, cost of living beats 60% of neighborhoods.
Is East Albany, Albany safe?
Yes, East Albany, Albany is safer than 99% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $203 per resident a year.
Compare East Albany, Albany with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Albany, Albany. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East Albany, 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.
East Albany, Albany detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Albany, Albany: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Albany, Albany: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Albany, Albany: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Albany, Albany: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East Albany, 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.