Albany, GA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Georgia·Albany

Dougherty County · Albany · population 66,705

AffordabilityShrinking
Albany, GA
Image: Wikipedia · Albany, Georgia
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
54
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Albany stands

Home values down 3.3% in the last year. population shrinking 1.1% per year. rents up 6.1% in the last year.

Median home $131,279
1-year -3.3%
5-yr CAGR +5.8%
vs 5-yr peak -7.0%
Population -1.1%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2024-08$131k$66k$93k$120k$147k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
25/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
60/100
Workable for remote workers
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$917/mo$619$797$975202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent132139100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 11.9
Buy

At a 11.9 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Albany on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 11.9 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
33 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
69 · w22%
Distance from peak
54 · w18%
Population growth
29 · w16%
Rent YoY
85 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
66 · w10%
Long thesis

Albany offers a $131,279 median home with +5.8% annualized 5-year appreciation. Affordability + positive trend is one of the better risk/reward setups in US residential — small downside, room to compound.

Short thesis

Albany's population is shrinking 1.1% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Albany

Albany is a city in Dougherty County, Georgia, with an estimated population of 66,705. The population has contracted 1.1% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Albany is $131,279 as of 2026-04, down 3.3% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.8% annual growth (-7.0% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Albany average $917 per month, up 6.1% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 54 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Healthy 5-year run: +5.8% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
●Cheap entry point: $131,279 median home is well below the US median of $355k — room to grow without overpaying.
●Hot rental market: rents up 6.1% YoY — landlords have pricing power, supports new investment math.

▼ Bear case

●Net out-migration: population shrinking 1.1% per year — services, schools, and tax base will follow.
●Cooling: -3.3% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.

About Albany (Wikipedia)

Albany is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the county seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany metropolitan area. The city's population was 68,089 in 2020.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorBo Dorough
Area55.83 sq mi
Elevation203 ft
Motto"There's only one Albany, Georgia"
Density1264.84/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Dougherty County right now.

NWS active alerts (GA)Georgia Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Dougherty County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Albany

Clarkston, GA54 · StableAcworth, GA56 · StableSavannah, GA55 · StableGriffin, GA61 · Stable

Run the numbers for Albany

ToolCan I afford Albany?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Albany rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Albany to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolAlbany cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
55° / 36°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
91° / 71°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
217
~59% of year
Annual precip
50″ rain
1″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Moderate
Tornado
Moderate
Wildfire
Low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Albany listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Albany area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
70%
Humid climate
Median household income
$71,400
Georgia state median
Top industries (state-level)
Logistics/DistributionFilm/TVHealthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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