county

Rensselaer County, NY

Demographic and economic profile of Rensselaer County, NY, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Rensselaer County, NY has a population of 160,749 and a GDP per capita of $73,775, well above median worker earnings of $50,958, suggesting productive output relative to wage costs. The workforce carries a 37.3% bachelor's degree attainment rate, a 5.6% unemployment rate, and a 64.2% labor force participation rate. Housing costs remain relatively contained, with a median home value of $244,300 and median gross rent of $1,182/month, while population has grown only modestly at +0.6% over five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

160,749

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$87,915

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.6% since 2018

Rensselaer County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone128,235 (80.0%)
  • Black or African American Alone11,173 (7.0%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race5,858 (3.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races5,452 (3.4%)
  • Asian Alone5,164 (3.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone4,181 (2.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish4,116
  2. 2.Other Indo-European1,845
  3. 3.Other Asian and Pacific Island1,241
  4. 4.Arabic932
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)923

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

62.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

17.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

7,810

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$73,775

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$45,113

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance20,924
  2. 2.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services10,102
  3. 3.Public Administration (Group)8,391
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)8,067
  5. 5.Retail Trade (Group)6,554

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations38,342
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations14,500
  3. 3.Service Occupations12,845
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations8,603
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations5,793

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Public Administration (LQ 2.22×)8,461
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.16×)21,779
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 0.99×)7,907
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 0.96×)5,340
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management (LQ 0.95×)9,431

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$244,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,182/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

64.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9998,419 (19.5%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9997,671 (17.8%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9996,006 (13.9%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9994,236 (9.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9993,244 (7.5%)
  • $500,000 to $749,9992,856 (6.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

37.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

92.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

64.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$50,958

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

10.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone56,173 (72.2%)
  • Worked At Home10,915 (14.0%)
  • Carpooled5,181 (6.7%)
  • Walked2,429 (3.1%)
  • Public Transit1,849 (2.4%)
  • Other825 (1.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.