What is the cost of living in Albany?

Albany has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 87.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 54.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,129/month.

What is the median salary in Albany?

The median salary in Albany is $58,830 annually (mean: $61,793). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.

The violent crime rate in the Albany area is 300 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1567 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Albany?

The state of GA has 2,315 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.4:1. Charter schools make up 4.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Albany?

Infant center-based childcare in the Albany area averages $6,591 per year. Preschool averages $6,034/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Albany a good place to relocate?

Albany has a Life Score of 58/100 (C-), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is an above-average score, Albany outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Albany sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Albany ranks #43 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Albany, GA

BEA RPP 87.7 ranks #43 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

87.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,129
2BR rent / mo: $58,830
Median salary: 61
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Albany ranks #43 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (61/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and climate.

#43
of 387 US metros · Excellent: 11,180,878
metro-area population: 300
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,315
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: job market (18/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Albany ranks #43 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 87.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,129/mo, median salary $58,830; LiveAbility Score 61/100, strongest in cost of living and climate.

Signature: BEA RPP 87.7 ranks #43 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 87.7 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,129/mo.

LiveAbility 61/100 puts Albany in the top third (#43 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Albany area is 49,030.

Albany vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

61 Top 12% higher than 88% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Albany housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Albany MSA; housing RPP 54.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,129/mo.

Studio

$966

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,006

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,129

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,534

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,858

/month

Albany wages and employment

Albany posts 49,030 total employment with median salary $58,830 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$58,830

Mean Salary

$61,793

Total Employment

49,030

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$28,660
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$22,830
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$35,360
Customer Service Representatives	$33,190
Cashiers	$27,090

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Albany area from NCES.

Schools

2,315

Enrollment

1,738,641

Student:Teacher

14.4:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Albany area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$6,591

per year

Toddler (Center)

$6,153

per year

Preschool (Center)

$6,034

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Albany's composite Life Score is 58/100 (C-), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

89/100

Elite

Wages

18/100

Bottom decile

Rent

76/100

Strong

Crime

56/100

Above average

Schools

31/100

Weak

Childcare

98/100

Elite

Environment

37/100

Below average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Albany ranks #43 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 61/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (89/100)

Cost of living

89
Climate

85
Housing

76
Schools

69
Safety

56
Low hazard

47
Air quality

43
Job market

18

What this shows Albany's strongest dimensions are cost of living and climate; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 18/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Albany to

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro Prescott Valley-Prescott Providence-Warwick Provo-Orem-Lehi Pueblo Punta Gorda

Metros near Albany on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Albany on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Albany cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Albany wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Albany?

Albany runs a $58,830 median salary at a 87.7 cost index, ranking #43 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Albany's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Albany head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Albany
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.