ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Albany County, New York

FIPS 36001 · Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY · Population 317,018
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$85,333
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.4%
Unemployment
4% national
$46.1B
GDP
46.4%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$85,333
Per Capita
$48,210
Mean Household
$111,519
Poverty Rate
13%
Median Income Comparison
Albany County$85,333
New York$85,974
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 18.2% (57,602 residents) 55-64: 12.7% (40,301 residents) 35-54: 23.4% (74,233 residents) 18-34: 27.7% (87,737 residents) Under 18: 18% (57,145 residents) 38 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 18%
18-34 · 27.7%
35-54 · 23.4%
55-64 · 12.7%
65+ · 18.2%
Race & Ethnicity
White69.2%
Black or African American12.3%
Asian7.8%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)7.3%
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
93.7%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.1 pts
46.4%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +10.7 pts
22.8%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +8.7 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
317,018
Population
169,858
Labor Force
Employed
161,047
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.4% ▲ +0.1 pts YoY
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15.2%
Key Takeaways
  • Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 10.7 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$46.1B
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Albany County, New York, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Health Care and Social Assistance
34,727 24.6%
$70,635
2Retail Trade
20,338 14.4%
$43,778
3Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
17,043 12.1%
$111,768
4Administrative and Support and Waste Management
13,017 9.2%
$52,307
5Accommodation and Food Services
12,838 9.1%
$31,645
6Finance and Insurance
9,416 6.7%
$133,129
7Other Services (except Public Administration)
8,734 6.2%
$54,762
8Construction
8,623 6.1%
$104,835
9Manufacturing
8,227 5.8%
$96,872
10Transportation and Warehousing
8,067 5.7%
$57,606
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 34,727 workers (24.6% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $70,635.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $46.1B (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $133,129 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $31,645, a 4.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
3.98x
3,401
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
2.10x
4,553
1.94x
670
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
1.88x
1,230
Educational Services
1.63x
8,000
Mining (except Oil and Gas)
1.53x
436

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Educational Services Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
8,000
Cluster Employment
1.63x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
3.98x 3,401
Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional Orgs
2.10x 4,553
1.94x 670
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
1.88x 1,230
Educational Services
1.63x 8,000
Mining (except Oil and Gas)
1.53x 436

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.02x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
52 employed
0.15x
Crop Production
120 employed
0.28x
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
610 employed
0.29x
Warehousing and Storage
839 employed
0.31x
Food Manufacturing
844 employed
0.31x
Paper Manufacturing
164 employed
0.31x
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
285 employed
0.33x
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
225 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation concentrates at 3.98x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
  • Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
  • Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Albany County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$294,600
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,313
Rent/Mo
56.6%
Owner-Occ
8.8%
Vacancy
3.5x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,217/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,417/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,702/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,041/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,253/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,133/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.5x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
  • Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,133/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
202,271
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 5 min below national avg
21.4 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15.2%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
85.6%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 65.4% of working-age population (18-64) 65% Participation
▼ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
46.4%
HS Diploma+
93.7%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
58,559/yr
New York University 18,769/yr
University at Buffalo 9,530/yr
Cornell University 8,800/yr
Stony Brook University 8,368/yr
Syracuse University 7,300/yr
CUNY Hunter College 5,792/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
19.9%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
51.1%
Service
15.5%
Sales & Office
20.4%
Construction / Maint.
4.2%
Production / Transport
8.8%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 161,047 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Short commutes: 21.4-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
  • Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 37,099 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources

Sample AI Insight

Albany County shows meaningful potential for transit and ground passenger transportation attraction, with a 3.98x concentration and 3,401 jobs in this sub-sector.

The interconnected base across transit and ground passenger transportation, religious, grantmaking, civic, professional orgs, and creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Albany County, New York, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Albany County, New York?

317,018 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Albany County, New York?

$85,333 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Albany County, New York?

3.4% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Albany County, New York?

$46.1B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).