Best PlacesSchenectady County, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Schenectady 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.
Schenectady County ranks 363rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $90,141, everyday costs sit below the national average, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, noise, and childcare costs.
The best neighborhoods in Schenectady 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 Schenectady County
The parts of Schenectady 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.
East Glenville
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and tree cover is thicker.
Rotterdam
More residents vote and advertised internet is faster.
Scotia
Schools score higher, though fewer households have young kids.
Schenectady
Streets are more walkable, though incomes run lower.
Schenectady 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.
Schenectady County's strengths and weaknesses
Schenectady 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 2% of counties. Walkability and low disaster risk 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 Schenectady County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- BikingBetter than 92% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of counties
Where Schenectady County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 3% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,317 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 Schenectady County
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Schenectady County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,141, 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 Schenectady County's effective rate of 2.20%, 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 Schenectady County
Schenectady 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 Schenectady County.
Who works in Schenectady County, and how
Work in Schenectady County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Schenectady County
Schenectady County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 67% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Schenectady County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Schenectady County growing, and who is moving in?
Schenectady County has grown about 5% 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 Schenectady County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Schenectady County, month by month
Schenectady County sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 57° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 62° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Schenectady County
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around Schenectady County
Schools across Schenectady County average a B, better than 89% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Birchwood Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Rosendale SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Charlton Heights Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Top middle schools
- Iroquois Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- Richard H O'rourke Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Van Antwerp Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Niskayuna High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Burnt Hills-ballston Lake Senior High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Mohonasen Senior High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Schenectady County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Schenectady 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 Schenectady County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Schenectady County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Schenectady County
Is Schenectady County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Schenectady County ranks 363rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and low disaster risk, 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 Schenectady County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $243,807. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $90,141 median income, cost of living beats 80% of counties.
Is Schenectady County safe?
Yes, Schenectady County is safer than 78% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $298 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Schenectady County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 21. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 29% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Schenectady County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are East Glenville, Rotterdam, and Scotia. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Schenectady County good for families?
Schools beat 89% of counties, crime safety beats 78%, and childcare runs $1,317 a month.
Is Schenectady County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 60% of counties. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare Schenectady County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Schenectady County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Schenectady 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.
Schenectady County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Schenectady County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Schenectady County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Schenectady County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Schenectady County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Schenectady 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.