Best PlacesWest Hill, Albany, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Hill, 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.
West Hill, Albany ranks 4,326th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Hill, 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.
West Hill, Albany's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Hill, Albany ranks high
- BikingBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where West Hill, Albany ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Hill, Albany
A household needs to earn about $31,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Hill, Albany home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,155, 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 West Hill, Albany's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Hill, Albany
West Hill, 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 West Hill, Albany.
Who works in West Hill, Albany, and how
Work in West Hill, Albany centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 31%
Life in West Hill, Albany
West Hill, Albany has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of West Hill, Albany and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Hill, Albany, month by month
West Hill, 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 West Hill, Albany
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 75 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Hill, Albany
Schools across West Hill, Albany average a B−, better than 72% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Sheridan Preparatory AcademyC+ · 38% proficient
- Philip J Schuyler Achievement AcademyC · 33% proficient
- Arbor Hill Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- William S Hackett Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- North Albany Academy Middle SchoolF · 3% 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 West Hill, Albany school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Hill, 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 West Hill, Albany against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West Hill, Albany
Is West Hill, Albany a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Hill, Albany ranks 4,326th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, transit, and clean air, and lowest on empty homes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Hill, Albany expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $109,702. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $54,155 median income, cost of living beats 24% of neighborhoods.
Is West Hill, Albany safe?
West Hill, Albany is safer than 18% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $744 per resident a year.
Compare West Hill, Albany with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Hill, Albany. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Hill, 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.
West Hill, Albany detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Hill, Albany: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Hill, Albany: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Hill, Albany: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Hill, Albany: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Hill, 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.