12203 — Albany, New York

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 12203. Its median household income runs 34% above Albany as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

70out of 100
Area Score
Top 13% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 36% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured61
SchoolsTop 13% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured79
Growth2,156th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured41
Housing affordabilityTop 21% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured77
Climate2,677th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured60
Physical resilienceTop 5% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured94
AccessTop 8% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured99
Economic stabilityTop 44% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured58
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.8% and median household income $83,147, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Albany, NY, which contains 12203, rather than for 12203 alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 72% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 13% of published profiles for schools.

Residential permitting has slowed: 236 units authorized over the past twelve months, 33% below the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Albany, NY, which contains 12203, rather than for 12203 alone.

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
30,771
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$83,147
Top 34% nationally
Density
2,949/sq mi
10.4 sq mi of land
Median age
34.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Albany
New York
Nearest major airport
ALB
5 mi · Albany Intl
Median home value
$279,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Albany, NY, which contains 12203, is 4.8% — higher than in all but 35% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Albany, NY, which contains 12203, grew 0.8% over the past year, to 50,824 employed residents.

57% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsAlbany County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,42547th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftAlbany County, NY’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$79,62072nd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$5,5162024 ACS 5-Year$83,147Top 34%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,4322024 ACS 5-Year$49,686Top 20%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year10.3%Top 50%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year18.9 minTop 10%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year56.9%Top 8%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year64.4%19th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentAlbany, NY’s figureJuly 202650,824Top 48%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Albany, NY’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Top 49%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Albany, NY’s figureJuly 2026+0.8%Top 20%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceAlbany, NY’s figureJuly 202653,38152nd percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.7%Top 26%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAlbany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$71,830Top 28%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageAlbany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$58,460Top 19%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%91st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Albany, NY’s figureJuly 2026+0.3%Bottom 30%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateAlbany, NY’s figureJuly 20264.8%Bottom 35%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year17.8%79th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202483k71k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $83,147 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-Schenectady-Troy, NY

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides13,180$37,590
Retail Salespersons11,930$35,420
Registered Nurses10,230$99,970
General and Operations Managers8,890$111,130
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners8,880$37,810
Cashiers8,570$34,290

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Albany, NY, the city containing this ZIP code.

72% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 80% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.4 students for every full-time teacher across 4 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
71.7%
Top 26% in New York
Reading proficiency
79.6%
Top 7% in New York
All 4 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Albany High SchoolALBANY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT2,93715.283%94%
Westmere Elementary SchoolGUILDERLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT52811.257%54%
Pine Hills Elementary SchoolALBANY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT36314.532%37%
Eagle Point Elementary SchoolALBANY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT27913.932%32%

60.1% 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 New York’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 98.2, 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-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area is up 51% over five years, and up 7.0% 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 $6,418 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.30% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,702, some 21% above the $1,409 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,702 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $68,100 a year, about 82% of the median household income here of $83,147.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,409 a month.

A median home at $279,500 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $121,148, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
98.2

Prices here run about 2% 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-Schenectady-Troy, NY 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
27.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,702
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,409
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$279,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 12203’s median household income of $83,147, 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-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area’s figure202398.2Top 47%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+7.0%96th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+51.0%79th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+84.9%33rd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 34%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year49.5%9th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7672024 ACS 5-Year14,90692nd percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,417Bottom 41%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,041Bottom 48%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,702Bottom 40%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$802024 ACS 5-Year$1,409Bottom 25%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,7412024 ACS 5-Year$279,50064th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$4272024 ACS 5-Year$6,41894th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,3392024 ACS 5-Year$121,148Top 16%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.17%2024 ACS 5-Year2.30%97th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year27.9%Top 48%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±592024 ACS 5-Year3456th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%35th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.1%51st percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3282024 ACS 5-Year1,09689th percentileof 33,7722024 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

41/ 100
Ranks 2,156 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

At 2.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Albany, NY, which contains 12203, rather than for 12203 alone.

Units permitted
236
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.3
Bottom 42% nationally
Year over year
−33%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
23.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
29%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$66,425
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$79,620
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Rensselaer County, NY 2,459 people · 18% of arrivals
  2. Schenectady County, NY 1,591 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Saratoga County, NY 1,178 people · 8.7% of arrivals
  4. Queens County, NY 450 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  5. Kings County, NY 433 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Rensselaer County, NY 2,435 people · 17% of departures
  2. Schenectady County, NY 1,845 people · 13% of departures
  3. Saratoga County, NY 1,765 people · 12% of departures
  4. Kings County, NY 273 people · 1.9% of departures
  5. Greene County, NY 239 people · 1.7% 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 Albany County, NY. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Albany, NY, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 16°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.7 inches, including 59.2 inches of snow.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ALBANY AP, 4.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals59.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals49°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
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

94 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 67% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 95% of measured US ZIP areas.

LandslideModerate
Ice stormModerate
HurricaneModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, lightning, tornado, strong wind, cold wave, hail, winter weather, avalanche, wildfire, drought, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
4.1
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
6.9
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
13.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
9.2
per 100,000 residents

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.

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 12203 (Albany County) rather than 12203 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Albany carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Albany Intl at 5 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year88.3%Bottom 45%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle5 miTop 8%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%Bottom 43%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Albany IntlALB5 mi8,500 ft
Westfield-Barnes RgnlBAF68 mi9,000 ft
Westover ARB/MetroCEF75 mi11,597 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
70
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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.

12203 vs Albany

How this ZIP area compares with Albany as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

12203
Albany
Median household income: 12203 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$83,147
vs
$61,986
Per capita income: 12203 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$49,686
vs
$37,843
Population density
2,949/sq mi
vs
4,695/sq mi
Median home value
$279,500
vs
$234,700
Median gross rent: Albany is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,409
vs
$1,216
Homeownership rate
49.5%
vs
38.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 12203 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
56.9%
vs
45.3%
Poverty rate: 12203 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
10.3%
vs
20.2%
Median age
34.5
vs
32.0

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.