319,964 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.9% since 2020)
523 square miles of land · 612 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
35 active community water systems list Albany County in the area they serve, reporting 302,176 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| ALBANY CITY surface water · local government · NY0100189 | 98,000 served |
| LATHAM WATER DISTRICT surface water · local government · NY0100198 | 85,590 served |
| BETHLEHEM WD NO 1 surface water · local government · NY0100191 | 31,000 served |
| GUILDERLAND TOWN WD surface water · local government · NY0100205 | 30,000 served |
| COHOES CITY surface water · local government · NY0100192 | 18,447 served |
| WATERVLIET CITY surface water · local government · NY0110127 | 9,889 served |
| COLONIE VILLAGE buys surface water · local government · NY0100194 | 8,030 served |
| MENANDS VILLAGE buys surface water · local government · NY0100200 | 4,500 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 571 people were held in Albany County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2026). In 2021 it was about 402.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
12 school districts have their office in Albany County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $311.1 million — $273.6 million to run schools, about $33,587 per student, plus $18.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $137.6 million local (mostly property tax), $155.6 million state, $28.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $142.1 million.
Spent $132.3 million — $124.8 million to run schools, about $20,692 per student, plus $3.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $94.9 million local (mostly property tax), $41.9 million state, $7.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $77.7 million.
Spent $127.8 million — $113.2 million to run schools, about $23,032 per student, plus $9.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $77 million local (mostly property tax), $38.5 million state, $8.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $22.8 million.
Spent $126.2 million — $108.3 million to run schools, about $22,047 per student, plus $15.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $78.7 million local (mostly property tax), $35.8 million state, $5.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $25.9 million.
Spent $118.4 million — $94.7 million to run schools, about $23,062 per student, plus $6.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $73.1 million local (mostly property tax), $33 million state, $4.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $51.7 million.
Spent $54.3 million — $46.5 million to run schools, about $24,821 per student, plus $1.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $18.3 million local (mostly property tax), $31.4 million state, $6.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.3 million.
Spent $57.5 million — $48.3 million to run schools, about $26,408 per student, plus $2.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $31 million local (mostly property tax), $21.2 million state, $3.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $7.6 million.
Spent $37.8 million — $34.2 million to run schools, about $24,385 per student, plus $1.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $8.5 million local (mostly property tax), $28.2 million state, $4.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $28.7 million.
And 4 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Albany County about $64.3 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
344 bridges in Albany County: 96 in good condition, 229 fair, and 19 poor (5.5%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| RTE I787 over LITTLE RIVER · built 1971 | 75,462 vehicles a day |
| RTE I87 over CSX RR/CAN PAC RR · built 1954 | 42,509 vehicles a day |
| RTE 9 over HUDSON RIVER · built 1969 | 31,748 vehicles a day |
| RTE I787 over CHURCH STREET MULTI-USE · built 1973 | 26,255 vehicles a day |
| RTE 9 over QUAY STREET S MALL-EB t · built 1972 | 15,321 vehicles a day |
| Ramp US20 EB to 91 over US20 EB to 910F NB RTE · built 1984 | 9,354 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $5.1 billion of work in Albany County in fiscal 2025, about $16,118 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for New York are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Albany County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Albany County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of New York: the state government and every county in New York.
Nearby counties: Schenectady County (16 mi) · Greene County (23 mi) · Schoharie County (24 mi) · Rensselaer County (25 mi) · Columbia County (29 mi) · Montgomery County (32 mi).