Living here
Cost of living in Albany
Housing is cheaper than the US average. Rents, home prices, taxes and how far a paycheck goes.
Median rent
$1,178/mo
13% below US
Median home value
$223,000
26% below US
Median household income
$59,485
24% below US
Rent as share of income
24%
US 21%
Home price to income
3.7×
US 3.9×
Sales tax
8%
Rent by number of bedrooms
HUD 2027 fair market rents for Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY MSA (gross rent including utilities, near the 40th percentile of local rents). Source: HUD USER.
How Albany compares
- Albany$1,178
- New York$1,576
- United States$1,348
- White Plains$2,151
- Yonkers$1,730
- Huntington$2,347
- Syracuse$998
- North Hempstead$2,276
- Brookhaven$1,908
- Oyster Bay$2,300
- Islip$2,192
- Albany$223,000
- New York$403,000
- United States$303,400
- White Plains$624,100
- Yonkers$478,000
- Huntington$733,000
- Syracuse$125,100
- North Hempstead$870,500
- Brookhaven$577,000
- Oyster Bay$634,600
- Islip$486,900
Taxes
Life in Albany
Questions
Is Albany expensive to live in?
Housing in Albany is cheaper than the national average: median rent is $1,178 (13% below US) and the median home value is $223,000 (26% below US).
How much is rent in Albany?
The median gross rent is $1,178 a month. HUD’s 2027 fair market rents for the area are studio $1,238, 1 bedroom $1,425, 2 bedrooms $1,711, 3 bedrooms $2,039, 4 bedrooms $2,249.
How much of their income do renters spend in Albany?
At the median, a year’s rent ($14,136) equals about 24% of the median household income ($59,485); nationally it’s about 21%.
What are taxes like in Albany?
Sales tax is 8% and property taxes run about 2.35% of home value a year.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; HUD fair market rents; NYS Dept. of Taxation and Finance, Publication 718 (2/25), Sales and Use Tax Rates by Jurisdiction, effective March 1, 2025.