Elevation of Albany
143ft
above sea level · 44 m
Albany is the capital of New York. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 13th lowest. The state’s largest city is New York.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 42.65° N · 73.76° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 42° 39′ 9″ N · 73° 45′ 22″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 18T · 601,947 E · 4,722,985 N
- Zone 18 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 101,698 people
- 21.4 sq mi of land · 4,752 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from August 2020: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Albany had 101,698 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 2.6% more than in April 2020, when it had 99,162. Its 21.4 sq mi of land work out to 4,752 people/sq mi; the state average is 424 people/sq mi.
It’s the 6th most populous of the 1,291 places the Census counts in New York (cities, towns and CDPs), after New York (8,584,629), and holds 0.5% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Albany County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 2.3 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Albany sits at 143 ft (44 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Albany is 955 ft below it.
Of the 3 cities in New York with a page, Albany is the 2nd highest. The others are Buffalo (602 ft) and New York (35 ft).
The highest point in New York is Mount Marcy, at 5,344 ft according to the USGS: 5,201 ft above Albany, 101 mi away in a straight line.
- 38 Albany 143 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Albany.
What is the elevation of Albany?
Albany is 143 feet (44 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Albany?
Latitude 42.65258 and longitude -73.75623, in decimal degrees (42° 39′ 9″ N · 73° 45′ 22″ W). In UTM, zone 18: 601,947 E and 4,722,985 N, on NAD83.
How does Albany rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 13th lowest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Albany in?
Albany County, New York.
Which is higher, Albany or Hartford?
Albany. Albany sits at 143 ft and Hartford at 50 ft: a difference of 93 ft, 82 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know