What salary do you need to live in Albany, NY?

Albany housing costs at a glance

A one-bedroom in Albany rents for a median of $1,104 a month, utilities the tenant pays included; a two-bedroom goes for $1,363 and a three-bedroom for $1,457. Over a full year, the two-bedroom median comes to $16,356.

Buying is the other half of the housing picture: owners put the median home in Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY at $285,900. That is only 3.2× the area's median household income of $88,074, a low ratio by national standards.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Albany's Regional Price Parity at 99.6, essentially the US average of 100: a dollar of income here buys about what it would anywhere on average, rents and everyday goods included.

Income needed for each grade in Albany

The salary lines for a two-bedroom household land at $43,000 for Tight, $87,000 for Okay and $174,000 for Comfortable. The gap between the Okay and Comfortable lines alone is $87,000, which says how much extra income it takes to make housing feel roomy here rather than merely workable.

Royal, the top band, starts at $582,000. At that income rent is 3% of pay and the median home 0.5× income.

These lines come straight from the calculator's formula: the income is raised until the two-bedroom score crosses each cutoff, then rounded up to the next $1,000.

Albany at four common salaries

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 44 and a three-bedroom 40, both Tight; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

In Albany the table's top salary of $150,000 stops at Okay (61) for two bedrooms; Comfortable starts higher, at $174,000.

Albany on the national list

Ranked against all 387 metros, Albany sits 94th on overall price level and 106th on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 168th.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ ($1,370) and Wilmington, NC ($1,357).

Albany next to New York and similar metros

Compared with New York as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Albany is 16% lower ($1,363 vs. $1,620) and the median home is 33% lower ($285,900 vs. $423,800).

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $278,000, so Albany needs $104,000 less than New York overall.

If Albany is on your list, Ithaca, NY, Rochester, NY, and Kingston, NY are the most similar New York metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

Where the typical Albany household lands

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $88,074, which grades Okay (46) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. That falls $85,926 short of the $174,000 Comfortable line, a reminder that the typical household here spends a larger share on housing than the Comfortable band allows. For New York as a whole, the median household income of $85,974 scores 32 against statewide rents. A household figure may pool several earners, unlike a single salary.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.