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Big small town

Living in Rensselaer, NY

Rensselaer is a big small town of 9,287 people in Rensselaer County, New York. It's about 4 miles from Albany, NY and 81 miles from Hartford, CT, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 85°F and winter highs 34°F, with about 56 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $209k and rent runs about $1k a month.

9,287people
$209kTypical home
$1,219/moRent
85° / 34°Summer / winter
56"Snow
208Sunny days

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Size & setting

  • Big small town of 9,287
  • Part of a metro area
  • About 2,928 people per sq mi
  • 81 mi to Hartford, CT
  • 4 mi to Albany, NY
  • 4 mi to the nearest town of 10k+

Money

  • Typical home $209k (≈$1,317/mo)
  • Median rent $1,219/mo
  • Median household income $70k
  • Property tax about 2.1% of value
  • 5.0% unemployment

Weather

  • Summer highs around 85°F
  • Winter highs around 34°F
  • Somewhat humid summers (dew point 60°F)
  • 208 sunny days a year (54 totally clear)
  • 157 cloudy days a year
  • 50 of 90 winter days are gray
  • 56" of snow a year
  • 15 days a year with 1"+ of snow
  • Rarely hits 100°F
  • 24 nights a year below 10°F
  • Usually calm

Safety

  • Very low violent crime (160 per 100k)
  • Very low property crime (878 per 100k)

People

  • Median age 37
  • 21% of households have kids
  • 14% are 65 or older
  • 27% have a college degree
  • Mixed community
  • 4% of residents are college students

Getting around & homes

  • Average commute 24 min
  • 7% walk or take transit to work
  • 8 mi to ALB airport
  • 8 mi to ALB (major hub)
  • Amtrak station in town
  • 41% single-family homes
  • Typical home built around 1960
  • 91% of homes have broadband

Outdoors

  • Gently rolling terrain
  • Elevation 108 ft
  • 93 mi to the ocean
  • 79 mi to a big lake
  • 2 mi to the nearest trailhead
  • 19 mi to the nearest ski area
  • 10 mi to the nearest campground
  • 42 golf courses within 25 mi

Things to do

  • 673 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
  • 68 bars within 25 mi
  • 200 coffee shops within 25 mi
  • 4 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
  • 47 museums within 25 mi
  • 34 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
  • Farmers market in town

Everyday

  • Schools in the bottom 32% of New York districts (reading)
  • 2 mi to the nearest grocery store
  • 4 mi to the nearest ER hospital
  • 26 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
  • 2 mi to the nearest vet
  • Dog park in town
  • 5 congregations per 10k people
  • College in town

Politics

  • Rensselaer County: Purple — split almost evenly
  • New York: D+13 in 2024

Natural hazards

  • Low hurricane risk
  • Low tornado risk
  • Very low wildfire risk
  • Very low earthquake risk
  • Moderate flood risk
  • Very low drought risk
  • High winter storm risk
  • Low heat wave risk
  • Very low volcano risk

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