Albany County, New York · Albany
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Albany County averages 53 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 46% of its homes predate 1960.
August brings the most downpours to Albany County, part of 7.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
46% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Albany County, 3.34 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
4% of occupied homes in Albany County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the New York county median of 19%.
About 15 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
About 317,018 people live in Albany County, 523 square miles in eastern New York, in roughly 147,662 homes. Albany is the county seat; Cohoes, Latham and Roessleville are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1964.
55/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Albany County ranks 18 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Albany County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
For frozen pipes, Albany County is a typical New York county, which is still plenty. It averaged 136 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 53 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 57 New York counties that's 33rd.
The longest cold spell was straight 28 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2015. The coldest night reached about -14°F on February 14, 2016. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to March. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 26 and the last spring freeze around May 1.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of New York. About 7.3 days a year bring an inch or more (17th of 57), most often in August, out of 40.7 inches of total precipitation. On September 30, 2015, 3.34 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.15 inches (through October 1, 2015).
About 102 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Roughly 68% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Albany near the middle of New York's 57 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 46% predate 1960 and 14% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
Renters occupy 43% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 15 times a year here, above the New York county median of 12. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Albany County it's 65% utility gas, 24% electric, 3% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Albany County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Albany. Schenectady County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Albany | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 45% | 27 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 68% | 67% | 23 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 14% | 13% | 24 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.2% | 7.6% | 50 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 8.8% | 14% | 43 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.3% | 19% | 51 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 53/yr | 55/yr | 33 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.3/yr | 6/yr | 17 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 102/yr | 101/yr | 21 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 15/yr | 12/yr | 21 of 57 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest New York county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Albany County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in August, September and October.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology