PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

34.1
Life Score / 100
D
Grade (curved)
#374
of 387 metros
3%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Albany ranks #374 of 387 US metros, ahead of 3% - carried by its wages (90/100) and held back most by environment (1/100).

90
strongest: Wages
39
then: Safety
1
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Albany sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

34 3th percentile higher than 3% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). This entry sits in this band. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Above this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Albany Life Score

Albany's composite score of 34.1 out of 100, a grade of D, places the metro at rank #374 of 387, ahead of 3% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (90/100) and Safety (39/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (1/100) and Schools (1/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 99.6 (rent-RPP 102.6). BLS median salary $73,812, 439,210 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses). HUD 2BR FMR $1,702/mo (studio $1,217).

FBI UCR (NY): 380 violent, 1661 property/100K. NCES: 11.8:1 ratio, 7.1% charter. DOL infant childcare $13,869/yr. EPA: 122 Superfund sites (NY). Ranks #371-#377 below.

Dimension detail

How Albany scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 24/100 (20%)
Wages 90/100 (20%)
Rent 21/100 (15%)
Safety 39/100 (15%)
Schools 1/100 (10%)
Childcare 21/100 (10%)
Environment 1/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

99.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$73,812
Avg Median Salary
$1,702
2BR Fair Market Rent
380
Violent Crime/100K (NY)
11.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$13,869
Infant Childcare/yr (NY)
122
Superfund Sites (NY)
439,210
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Albany With...

Albany vs Utica Compare → Albany vs Watertown Compare → Albany vs Binghamton Compare → Albany vs Wildwood Compare → Albany vs Waterloo Compare → Albany vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Albany outranks 3% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#371 Anchorage, AK 34.3 D
#372 Flagstaff, AZ 34.5 D
#373 Colorado Springs, CO 34.8 D
#374 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 34.1 D
#375 Helena, MT 34.0 D
#376 Ithaca, NY 33.9 F
#377 Barnstable Town, MA 33.2 F

NY Metro Scores

Utica-Rome, NY B 52.5 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY B 52.5 Binghamton, NY C+ 46.9 Syracuse, NY C+ 46.9 Rochester, NY C 42.3 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY C- 41.0

Using Albany's Life Score

Albany is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (90/100) and its weakest is environment (1/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Albany head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Albany lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Albany's biggest strengths? ▼
Albany's strongest dimensions are Wages (90/100), Safety (39/100), Cost of Living (24/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Albany's weakest areas? ▼
Albany's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (1/100), Schools (1/100), Rent (21/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Albany compared to the national average? ▼
Albany's Regional Price Parity is 99.6 (0.4% less than national); rent RPP 102.6.
What is the average salary in Albany? ▼
Albany median salary: $73,812, 439,210 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, Registered Nurses.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Albany's 34.1/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.