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Towns / New York

Nassau, New York

Nassau is a small town of about 1,100 people in Rensselaer County, New York. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Hartford, is about 70 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,077
down 1.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$239,200
Rensselaer County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$84,781
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Albany area
99.6
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Albany, NY
To Hartford
70 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.4% below the U.S. average in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 8.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Maple Hill Junior/senior High School, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAlbany Medical Center Hospital in Albany, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHartford is about 70 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Nassau meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$239,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Rensselaer County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,073 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$84,781U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
62%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,089 a yearNew York: $6,582
Homes built before 1940
52%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
99.6U.S. average = 100 (the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area, not Nassau alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,0772020: 1,098
Median age
42.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
33%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (33%); construction (14%); retail (9%)
Average commute
27 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
19%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Albany Medical Center Hospital, Albany, NY, about 13 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Nassau, run by East Greenbush Central School District. The nearest public high school is Maple Hill Junior/senior High School, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on New York's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
16°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
10 a year
Nights at or below freezing
144 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.4 inches a year
Snow
53 inches a year
Elevation
396 feet

Weather stations: Valatie 1 N (7 miles away) and West Sand Lake 2 S (7 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Albany Medical Center Hospital, Albany, Hartford.

Rensselaer County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Albany Avenue Historic District, the Church Street Historic District and the Newton-Taber-Martin Farm.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Martin Van Buren National Historic Site11 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail22 miles
  • Saratoga National Historical Park32 miles
  • Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site52 miles
  • Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site53 miles

Read about Nassau's history on Wikipedia.

Know Nassau?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Nassau Lake, NY (unincorporated)830 people, 2 miles
  • Niverville, NY (unincorporated)1,181 people, 5 miles
  • East Nassau, NY512 people, 6 miles
  • Averill Park, NY (unincorporated)1,615 people, 9 miles
  • New Baltimore, NY (unincorporated)298 people, 10 miles
  • Poestenkill, NY (unincorporated)744 people, 13 miles
  • Ghent, NY (unincorporated)517 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.