Albany, Georgia

Area Profile

67,224 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Albany, in Dougherty County.

48out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 14% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,546th of 4,199 cities measured39
Schools3,536th of 4,162 cities measured22
GrowthTop 38% of 4,224 cities measured56
Housing affordabilityTop 31% of 4,218 cities measured73
ClimateTop 45% of 4,225 cities measured71
Physical resilience2,909th of 4,226 cities measured40
Access4,033rd of 4,226 cities measured54
Economic stability4,128th of 4,226 cities measured19
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.8% and the Opportunity signal places Albany in the bottom 16%.

In the public schools here, 31% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.5 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 30% of renter income here, at the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 1.9 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
67,224
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$47,240
Bottom 19% nationally
Density
1,221/sq mi
55.1 sq mi of land
Median age
34.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Georgia
Metro area
Nearest major airport
VLD
77 mi · Valdosta Rgnl
Median home value
$124,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.8% — higher than in all but 32% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 0.8% over the past year, to 24,417 employed residents.

Median household income of $47,240 is lower than in 81% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsDougherty County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$37,6001st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftDougherty County, GA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$43,0571st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,3602024 ACS 5-Year$47,240Bottom 19%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2492024 ACS 5-Year$25,040Bottom 20%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year26.3%Bottom 13%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.8 minTop 25%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year21.4%Top 48%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year75.7%45th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202624,417Bottom 29%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−3.2%Bottom 12%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.8%Top 22%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202625,65929th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year69.2%Bottom 25%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAlbany, GA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,250Bottom 5%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageAlbany, GA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$43,620Bottom 4%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%83rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.6%Top 22%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.8%Bottom 32%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.2%57th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/077.44.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.8% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202447k40k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $47,240 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Albany, GA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons1,870$28,660
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,790$22,830
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand1,530$35,360
Customer Service Representatives1,480$33,190
Cashiers1,430$27,090
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers1,190$57,050

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

31% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 27% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.5 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
30.7%
Bottom 20% in Georgia
Reading proficiency
27.2%
Bottom 8% in Georgia
The 12 largest of 13 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Westover High SchoolDougherty County1,23417.929%28%
Monroe High SchoolDougherty County1,18918.015%11%
Live Oak Elementary SchoolDougherty County83317.741%29%
Merry Acres Middle SchoolDougherty County80713.719%24%
Sherwood Acres Elementary SchoolDougherty County63015.038%35%
Martin Luther King- Jr. Elementary SchoolDougherty County53716.311%6%
Lake Park Elementary SchoolDougherty County49413.051%50%
Robert A. Cross Middle MagnetDougherty County47813.768%70%
Alice Coachman Elementary SchoolDougherty County44814.912%9%
Lincoln Elementary Magnet SchoolDougherty County40415.554%47%
Northside Elementary SchoolDougherty County38117.322%17%
Lamar Reese School of the ArtsDougherty County36812.335%28%

97.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Georgia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 14% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 86.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Albany, GA Metro Area is up 48% over five years, and up 0.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,694 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.36% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,129, some 21% above the $931 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,129 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,200 a year, about 96% of the median household income here of $47,240.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $931 a month.

A median home at $124,300 costs 1.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $66,545, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
86.5

Prices here run about 14% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Albany, GA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,129
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$931
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$124,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Albany’s median household income of $47,240, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Albany, GA Metro Area’s figure202386.5Top 1%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Albany, GA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.6%14th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Albany, GA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+48.2%75th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Albany, GA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+79.7%26th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year1.9Top 27%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year37.7%4th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4152024 ACS 5-Year32,95998th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,006Top 23%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,534Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,129Top 16%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$242024 ACS 5-Year$931Top 46%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,1332024 ACS 5-Year$124,30029th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1152024 ACS 5-Year$1,69448th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,0682024 ACS 5-Year$66,545Bottom 33%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year1.36%72nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year29.7%Bottom 42%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1782024 ACS 5-Year36996th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%63rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year15.3%80th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5902024 ACS 5-Year5,42199th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

56/ 100
Top 38% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 3% since 2020, to 66,705 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 272 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Dougherty County, which contains Albany, lost about 0.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $37,600, below the $43,057 of households that moved out.

At 4.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
272
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.0
Top 35% nationally
Year over year
+240%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202469k66k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
35%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$37,600
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$43,057
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Lee County, GA 597 people · 14% of arrivals
  2. Worth County, GA 212 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  3. Mitchell County, GA 178 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  4. Terrell County, GA 147 people · 3.5% of arrivals
  5. Fulton County, GA 95 people · 2.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Lee County, GA 877 people · 19% of departures
  2. Worth County, GA 190 people · 4.2% of departures
  3. Mitchell County, GA 164 people · 3.6% of departures
  4. Fulton County, GA 131 people · 2.9% of departures
  5. Terrell County, GA 93 people · 2.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Dougherty County, GA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202521137
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−55%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 93°F and January a low of 39°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 46.6 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 45, in the Good band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ALBANY SW GA RGNL AP, 3.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals46.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals93°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year452024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals33°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
45
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

40 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 62% of it.

HurricaneElevated
LightningModerate
Inland floodingModerate
TornadoModerate
DroughtModerate
Strong windModerate
Cold waveElevated

Low or minimal exposure: earthquake, heat wave, wildfire, hail, winter weather, ice storm, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
1,485
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
3,761
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Albany's police department reported 1,485 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 3,761.

Dougherty County records 25.4 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 29.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 26.6 per 100,000 residents in Dougherty County.

Homicide
25.4
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
29.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
26.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Albany’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Albany (Dougherty County) rather than Albany itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Valdosta Rgnl at 77 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.5%Bottom 20%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle77 miBottom 4%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.4%Bottom 18%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Valdosta RgnlVLD77 mi8,003 ft
Dothan RgnlDHN77 mi8,500 ft
Tallahassee IntlTLH82 mi8,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
48
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Albany

3 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Albany with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Albany closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3170722,679$50,862$133,900—
3172119,435$77,177$216,40057
3170116,135$35,025$94,80044