Demographics of Rensselaer County, New York

Rensselaer County, New York had 160,510 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −379 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the American Community Survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Rensselaer County, in four figures

160,510
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate.; −0.2%
Change since July 2020: −379 people.; 40.1 ±0.3
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $87,915 ±$2,391
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. Each year's change is births less deaths, net moves from abroad and net moves from elsewhere in the country, with the Bureau's small residual. The 2020 row's components run 3 months, from the April census to July 1.

Rensselaer County, New York's population shrank 0.2% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Rensselaer County, New York's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Rensselaer County, New York's population shrank 0.2% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Rensselaer County, New York's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	160,889	100.0	100.0
2021	160,634	99.8	100.2
2022	159,213	99.0	100.7
2023	159,605	99.2	101.6
2024	160,014	99.5	102.5
2025	160,510	99.8	103.1

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Population of Rensselaer County, New York on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change	Births less deaths	From abroad	From elsewhere in the country
2020	160,889	−237	−15	0	−240
2021	160,634	−255	−158	+129	−384
2022	159,213	−1,421	−374	+372	−1,386
2023	159,605	+392	−142	+632	−67
2024	160,014	+409	−129	+538	+6
2025	160,510	+496	−128	+310	+303

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 40.1 ±0.3: for men 38.8 ±0.4 and for women 41.8 ±0.4. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Rensselaer County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	New York	United States
Under 5	7,818 ±34	4.9% ±<0.1	5.4% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	22,744 ±749	14.2% ±0.5	15.0% ±<0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	16,014 ±607	10.0% ±0.4	8.9% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	42,896 ±884	26.8% ±0.6	27.1% ±<0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	41,530 ±921	25.9% ±0.6	25.6% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	29,330 ±1,019	18.3% ±0.6	17.9% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $87,915 ±$2,391, and income per person $46,000 ±$1,084, in 2024 dollars. The median is $85,974 ±$402 in New York and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Rensselaer County by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	New York	United States
Under $25,000	9,206 ±793	13.8% ±1.2	16.0% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	10,305 ±879	15.5% ±1.3	15.1% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	9,221 ±650	13.8% ±1.0	13.6% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	9,044 ±687	13.6% ±1.0	11.4% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	13,463 ±879	20.2% ±1.3	16.7% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	7,942 ±589	11.9% ±0.9	10.1% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	7,505 ±592	11.3% ±0.9	17.1% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Rensselaer County by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	New York	United States
All ages	18,191 ±1,548	11.8% ±1.0	14.0% ±0.2	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	5,333 ±720	17.8% ±2.3	18.3% ±0.2	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	9,491 ±955	11.3% ±1.1	12.8% ±0.1	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	3,367 ±412	8.5% ±1.0	13.1% ±0.2	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Rensselaer County, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Rensselaer County	New York	United States
Housing units	74,543 ±105	8,585,241 ±652	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	89.5% ±0.8	90.0% ±0.1	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	10.5% ±0.8	10.0% ±0.1	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	64.8% ±1.1	54.3% ±0.2	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	35.2% ±1.2	45.7% ±0.1	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$258,400 ±$6,368	$423,800 ±$1,627	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,217 ±$26	$1,621 ±$7	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1962 ±1	1959 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Rensselaer County by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	New York	United States
Hispanic or Latino	9,863 ±0	6.2% ±<0.1	19.8% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	126,252 ±639	78.7% ±0.4	52.8% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	10,426 ±742	6.5% ±0.5	13.4% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	5,123 ±267	3.2% ±0.2	9.0% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	36 to 118	< 0.1% to 0.1%	0.2% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 39	0% to < 0.1%	< 0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	844 ±392	0.5% ±0.2	1.0% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	7,728 ±962	4.8% ±0.6	3.8% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Rensselaer County by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	New York	United States
Born in the state	122,410 ±1,514	76.3% ±0.9	62.4% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	27,008 ±1,352	16.8% ±0.8	12.3% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	1,927 ±271	1.2% ±0.2	2.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	8,987 ±915	5.6% ±0.6	22.8% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	5,227 ±528	3.3% ±0.3	13.6% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	3,760 ±687	2.3% ±0.4	9.2% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Rensselaer County among the counties of New York

22nd of 62 by population, July 2025. Every one is listed on the New York page.

Counties of New York near Rensselaer County in population, July 2025
County	July 2025	Change since 2020
Oneida County	226,392	−2.1%
Niagara County	208,912	−1.5%
Broome County	195,736	−1.2%
Ulster County	183,330	+1.1%
Schenectady County	162,581	+3.0%
Rensselaer County	160,510	−0.2%
Chautauqua County	124,126	−2.6%
Oswego County	118,569	+1.0%
Ontario County	113,130	+0.6%
Jefferson County	111,540	−3.9%
St. Lawrence County	105,488	−2.5%

Elsewhere on the site

Rankings this appears in

No. 11 Counties in New York by median household income
No. 11 Counties in New York by per capita income
No. 17 Counties in New York by median rent
No. 18 Counties in New York by median home value
No. 21 Counties in New York by poverty rate
No. 22 Counties by population in New York

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026