Rensselaer County, New York

Rensselaer County has a population of 160,332 and has shrunk 0.4% since the 2020 census. The median home is worth $258,400, about 2.9 times the county's median household income of $87,915.

Home price
$258,400
Income
$87,915
Population
160,332
Unemployment
5.3%

Housing

Home values, rent, property taxes, insurance and how local prices relate to local incomes.

Median home price$258,400county
Median gross rent$1,217county
Median year homes here were built1962county
Share of homes built before 198066.8%county
Share of homes that are manufactured or mobile2.5%county
Share of homes that are vacant10.5%county
Share of occupied homes that are rented35.2%county
Share of homes held for seasonal or occasional use2.0%county
Typical monthly rent$1,634county
HUD fair market rent, 2-bed$1,702county
HUD fair market rent, 1-bed$1,417county
HUD fair market rent, 3-bed$2,041county
Home insurance / yr$1,683(statewide)

Money

Household earnings and buying power. Adjusted income restates local income using the statewide cost-of-living index.

Cost of living125.1(statewide)
Median household income$87,915county
Family health premium / yr$27,188(statewide)
Infant childcare / yr$17,361(statewide)
Regular gas price / gal$4.166(statewide)
Poverty rate11.8%county

Jobs

What people here do for work, who they work for, whether they work from home, and how much of the local economy sits in one industry.

Workers who work from home14.0%county
Unemployment rate5.3%county
Share of adults in the labor force63.6%county
Share of workers who are self-employed4.5%county
Share of workers employed by government22.7%county
Share of workers in the largest industry26.1%county
Economic output per resident$96,726county

Taxes

State tax rules that can affect take-home pay, investments and everyday purchases.

Property tax rate2.05%county
Top state income tax10.90%(statewide)
Capital gains tax10.90%(statewide)
Combined sales tax8.54%(statewide)

Transportation

Distance to air travel and how people get around locally. Distances are straight-line from the county's population-weighted centre, so driving is further.

Mean commute time24.0 mincounty
Miles to nearest airport with airline service9.3 micounty
Passengers boarding at the nearest airline airport1490673county
Miles to nearest general aviation field2.7 micounty
Airports with airline service located here0county
General aviation airfields located here1county
Passenger train stations and the railway network1county
Miles to the nearest passenger rail station6.9 micounty
Households without a vehicle9.8%county
Traffic deaths28.7county
Change in traffic deaths per 100,000-1.3(statewide)

Schools

Public schools and colleges counted where they actually sit, plus the education level of adults who live here. Students per teacher is a staffing measure, not a quality ranking.

Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher37.6%county
Adults 25+ with a high school diploma or higher92.6%county
Public schools in the county41county
Public school enrollment19274county
Students per full-time teacher10.6county
Free lunch eligible45.8%county
Elementary schools23county
Middle schools5county
High schools7county
Institutions granting bachelor's degrees or above2county
Share of local colleges that are public25.0%county
Two-year institutions2county
Miles to the nearest bachelor's-granting institution3.0 micounty

Health

Primary care physicians48county
Medicare-certified hospitals in this county1county
Hospitals here with an emergency department1county
Average CMS star rating of hospitals here3county
Fine particulate matter8.1 µgcounty
Without health insurance3.4%county
Adults who were food insecure in the past year12.3%county
Adults who received food assistance in the past year10.8%county
Frequent mental distress15.7%county
No leisure-time physical activity22.2%county
Diagnosed diabetes10.1%county

Place

Who lives here and what the place is like: population, age, migration, safety and civic profile.

Population160,332county
Land area in square miles652county
People per square mile of land246.0county
Supermarkets and grocery stores32county
Convenience stores26county
Share living far from a food store11.6%county
Share living in a low-income, low-access tract0.0%county
Population change since 2020-0.4%county
Natural change per 1,000 residents-1county
Net international migration per 1,000 residents2county
Median age40.1 yrscounty
Share of residents under 1819.1%county
Share of residents 65 and over18.3%county
Share of households that are one person32.9%county
Share of residents born outside the United States5.6%county
Second languages7.7%county
Share of residents on a religious body’s rolls30.3%county
Congregations per 100,000 residents88county
Net domestic migration per 1,000 residents2county
Households that moved in4,863county
Households that moved away4,859county
Average income of arriving households$59,264county
Average income of departing households$64,065county
Homes authorised per 1,000 existing homes5county
Housing units authorised in the latest year335county
Share of permitted homes in multifamily buildings50.7%county
Violent crime rate380(statewide)

Weather

Measured annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall. These are climate facts, not a ranking.

Avg. annual temperature47.8°Fcounty
Annual precipitation41.0 incounty
Annual snowfall41.4 incounty
Average daily solar energy3.78 kWh/m²county
Days reaching 90°F9 dayscounty
Days at or below freezing146 dayscounty

Gardening

Plant hardiness zoneZone 6acounty
Frost-free days167 dayscounty
Average last spring frostMay 2county
Average first fall frostOct 16county

Utilities

Average monthly electric bill$121county
Electric utilities serving this county2county
Electricity price per kWh17.8¢county
Household electricity use680 kWhcounty
Residential natural gas price$20.71(statewide)
Homes heated by electricity16.3%county
Homes heated by utility gas47.8%county
Homes heated by propane9.4%county
Homes heated by fuel oil20.8%county
Homes heated by wood3.7%county
Households with broadband91.6%county

Risk

Relative exposure to air pollution and natural hazards. Higher values indicate more measured risk, not a prediction.

Riverine flood risk89.0county
Coastal flood risk0.0county
Drought risk0.0county
Landslide risk72.7county
Hail risk93.7county
Earthquake risk63.3county
Tornado risk76.6county
Tropical cyclone risk79.4county
Extreme heat risk57.6county
Winter weather risk65.5county
Strong wind risk78.3county
Wildfire risk29.3county

Sports

Major pro teams based here0county
NFL teams based here0county
NBA teams based here0county
MLB teams based here0county
NHL teams based here0county
MLS soccer teams based here0county
Top-division college football teams0county
Second-tier college football teams0county
Affiliated minor league baseball teams0county
AHL teams based here0county
ECHL teams based here0county

Figures marked county are measured for Rensselaer County directly. The rest are published at state level only and show the New York figure — see methodology for each source and its limits.

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