Schenectady County, NY
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 42.82, -74.04.
Assembled 2026-10-06. Read the brief.
- 72nd pct · 842nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 62nd pct · 24th of 62 New York counties · median $256,722
- 25th pct · 4th of 5 counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro · median $329,236
- 75th pct · 758th of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 39th pct · 38th of 62 New York counties · median +5.7%
- 25th pct · 4th of 5 counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro · median +5.7%
- 49th pct · 710th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 41st pct · 29th of 49 New York counties · median $1,531
- counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro: only 4 of counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
- 86th pct · 444th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 67th pct · 21st of 62 New York counties · median 32,139
- 50th pct · 3rd of 5 counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro · median 60,786
- 94th pct · 168th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 91st pct · 6th of 62 New York counties · median $1,250
- 75th pct · 2nd of 5 counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro · median $1,532
- 38th pct · 1,881st of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 34th pct · 41st of 62 New York counties · median 4.1
- 0th pct · 5th of 5 counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro · median 4.3
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $314,934 (Aug 2026), +5.3% over one year, +33.7% over five
- 72nd pct · 842nd of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 62nd pct · 24th of 62 New York counties · median $256,722
- 25th pct · 4th of 5 counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro · median $329,236
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Schenectady County, NY | $314,934 · +5.3% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,490/mo (Aug 2026), +2.7% over one year; price-to-rent 17.6
- 49th pct · 710th of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 41st pct · 29th of 49 New York counties · median $1,531
- counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro: only 4 of counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro published this metric; fewer than 5 is too few to rank
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Schenectady County, NY | $1,490/mo · +2.7% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,724 a month on $314,934 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $6,968 a month: 24.7% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $314,934 × 80% = $251,947, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $1,724/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,608 × 52 / 12 = $6,968) = 25% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $314,934 / ($1,608 × 52) = 3.8
- price-to-rent = $314,934 / ($1,490 × 12) = 17.6
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
60,786 jobs at 3,549 employers (2026 Q1); +3.4% jobs and +6.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 86th pct · 444th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 67th pct · 21st of 62 New York counties · median 32,139
- 50th pct · 3rd of 5 counties in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro · median 60,786
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Schenectady County, NY | 60,786 jobs · $1,608/wk · +3.4% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 10,013 | $1,090 | 1.09 | +16.2% |
| Professional and technical services | 6,186 | $3,787 | 1.48 | +1.6% |
| Retail trade | 6,179 | $819 | 1.04 | -11.3% |
| Manufacturing | 5,248 | $2,580 | 1.07 | +4.0% |
| Accommodation and food services | 4,819 | $704 | 0.88 | +2.8% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 2,955 | $992 | 1.15 | +9.6% |
| Finance and insurance | 2,294 | $2,459 | 0.93 | +0.7% |
| Construction | 2,235 | $1,748 | 0.70 | -6.6% |
| Educational services | 1,921 | $800 | 1.47 | -5.1% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,581 | $1,067 | 0.46 | -3.7% |
| Other services | 1,576 | $726 | 0.87 | -4.4% |
| Management of companies | 1,298 | $2,355 | 1.28 | +90.6% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
No reservoir gauges within 150 km (or the camera is above the gauge altitude)
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
73 gauges · 0 flooding · 14 with quality panels averaging 100 % · 13 stale
Sites found: 73, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-01354330 | stage 12.0 ft · quality 100 % (5) | 4 km |
| USGS-01354230 | stage 25.2 ft · quality 100 % (1) | 7 km |
| USGS-01354500 | flow 1,210 ft³/s | 9 km |
| USGS-01355475 | stage 12.0 ft · quality 100 % (2) | 13 km |
| USGS-01356190 | flow 179.0 ft³/s · STALE | 16 km |
| USGS-01356000 | stage 12.0 ft | 16 km |
| USGS-01354083 | flow 1,730 ft³/s · quality 100 % (1) | 18 km |
| USGS-01351500 | flow 300.0 ft³/s | 18 km |
| USGS-01351450 | stage 1.87 ft | 18 km |
| USGS-01353900 | turb. 3.30 FNU · quality 100 % (3) | 21 km |
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
27 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 27, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-424859073585501 | depth 8.48 ft · 2026-10-05 | 5 km |
| USGS-425048073472501 | depth 3.68 ft · 2026-10-05 | 21 km |
| USGS-424115073495301 | depth 8.92 ft · 2026-10-05 | 23 km |
| USGS-425624074210601 | depth 10.9 ft · 2026-10-05 | 29 km |
| USGS-424311073423901 | depth 6.83 ft · 2026-10-05 | 29 km |
| USGS-425708074241801 | depth 92.4 ft · 2021-04-08 | 33 km |
| USGS-425511074254001 | depth 35.1 ft · 2026-10-05 | 33 km |
| USGS-430327073475401 | depth 40.5 ft · 2026-10-05 | 33 km |
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.00 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$3.5 bn in deposits at 41 offices of 13 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,879, highly concentrated. $1.9 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $1.8 bn, contracts $76.4 m), $31,168 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| TrustCo Bank | $1.2 bn · 35.0% share · 12 offices | |
| KeyBank National Association | $478.2 m · 13.7% share · 4 offices | |
| First National Bank of Scotia | $476.2 m · 13.7% share · 6 offices | |
| Schenectady, NY | $1.9 bn FY2026 · $31,168/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $1.8 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| TrustCo Bank | $1,218,342,000 | 35.0% | 12 |
| KeyBank National Association | $478,155,000 | 13.7% | 4 |
| First National Bank of Scotia | $476,178,000 | 13.7% | 6 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $470,843,000 | 13.5% | 3 |
| NBT Bank, National Association | $215,436,000 | 6.2% | 2 |
| Pioneer Bank, National Association | $172,292,000 | 4.9% | 2 |
| Citizens Bank, National Association | $157,610,000 | 4.5% | 2 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $90,178,000 | 2.6% | 1 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $77,123,000 | 2.2% | 3 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $48,460,000 | 1.4% | 2 |
Deposit concentration is 1,879 across 13 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 13 banks with deposits in the county = 35.0² + 13.7² + 13.7² + … (10 more) = 1,879
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Department of Health and Human Services | $936,850,388 |
| Social Security Administration | $796,330,518 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $59,745,526 |
| Department of Energy | $47,579,588 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $30,577,934 |
| Department of Defense | $9,934,388 |
| Department of Education | $7,155,931 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $3,817,610 |
| Department of Transportation | $1,652,202 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $389,364 |
| Department of Justice | $367,952 |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | $94,987 |
That is $31,168 per covered job, against 60,786 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $1.9 bn / 60,786 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $31,168
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 12.69 | 2026-10-05 | +3.3% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.60 | 2026-10-06 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 6.00 | 2026-09-22 | -14.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 6,830.00 | 2026-08-01 | +7.4% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 96.16 | 2026-09-29 | -3.2% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.28 | 2026-10-01 | +3.6% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 646,347.00 | 2026-08-01 | +1.1% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Schenectady County, NY: 15 findings, 1 at a watch level and 14 noted
watchSchenectady County, NY's typical home value of +5.3% scores 75 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 39 across New York counties, a gap of 36 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 36 = |75 across US counties - 39 across New York counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteSchenectady County, NY's average weekly wage was 6.1% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +6.1 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteSchenectady County, NY's covered employment was 3.4% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +3.4 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteSchenectady County, NY's typical asking rent rose 1.3% from $1,470 in July 2026 to $1,490 in August 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +1.3% = (1489.7549019607843 - 1470.0055806110793) / 1470.0055806110793 × 100
- 1489.7549019607843 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
- 1470.0055806110793 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-07
noteSchenectady County, NY's typical home value rose 0.4% from $313,653 in July 2026 to $314,934 in August 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- +0.4% = (314933.8903603764 - 313653.3079743373) / 313653.3079743373 × 100
- 314933.8903603764 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
- 313653.3079743373 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-07
Read all 12 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.