County · code 36001
Albany CountyNew York
Albany County is a county in New York, with its seat in Albany, formed in 1683.
- Founded1683
- County seatAlbany
- Named forJames II of England
- Land area523 sq mi + 10 sq mi water
- Population314,848 2020 Census
- Parcels mapped112,804 checked 15 October 2026
Where it is
Albany on the map of New York
New York has 62 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.
History
Founded in 1683
An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.
Albany County was created in 1683 from non-county area in New York and named after James II of England. Its boundaries changed significantly over the following decades through gains and losses, including the temporary creation and elimination of Cumberland County and the loss of Vermont territory when Vermont declared independence in 1777.
- 1683Albany County created Albany created from non-county area in New York; northern limit was not defined. · N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 4/1:122
- 1717Gained territory Albany gained from Dutchess and Non-County Area 4. · N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 333/1:915
- 1763Albany County created King George Iii, as part of his Proclamation of 1763, created the new province of Quebec in Canada, implicitly setting the northern limit of New York at the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude from the Atlantic-St. Lawrence watershed westward to the St. Lawrence River. Albany's northern limit was implicitly set at this new northern limit.from Iii· Cappon, Petchenik, and Long, 1, 77, 90; Shortt and Doughty, 119-120
- 1766Lost territory Albany lost to creation of Cumberland (extinct).to Cumberland· N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 1297/4:904
- 1767Gained territory Albany gained all of Cumberland; Cumberland eliminated when the act that created it was annulled.from Cumberland· N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 1297/4:903
Show all 24 changes
- 1683Albany County created Albany created from non-county area in New York; northern limit was not defined. · N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 4/1:122
- 1717Gained territory Albany gained from Dutchess and Non-County Area 4. · N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 333/1:915
- 1763Albany County created King George Iii, as part of his Proclamation of 1763, created the new province of Quebec in Canada, implicitly setting the northern limit of New York at the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude from the Atlantic-St. Lawrence watershed westward to the St. Lawrence River. Albany's northern limit was implicitly set at this new northern limit.from Iii· Cappon, Petchenik, and Long, 1, 77, 90; Shortt and Doughty, 119-120
- 1764Gained territory Albany implicitly gained all of present Vermont when King George Iii established the boundary between New York and New Hampshire along the west bank of the Connecticut River, north of Massachusetts.from Iii· Slade, 13-19; Van Zandt, 63
- 1766Lost territory Albany lost to creation of Cumberland (extinct).to Cumberland· N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 1297/4:904
- 1767Gained territory Albany gained all of Cumberland; Cumberland eliminated when the act that created it was annulled.from Cumberland· N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 1297/4:903
- 1768Lost territory Albany lost to re-creation of Cumberland (extinct).to Cumberland· N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 1559/5:400
- 1770Lost territory Albany lost to creation of Gloucester (extinct).to Gloucester· N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 1559/5:401
- 1772Lost territory Albany lost to creation of Charlotte (now Washington) and Tryon (now Montgomery). · N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 1534/5:321
- 1772Lost territory Albany lost to Cumberland (extinct).to Cumberland· N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 1559/5:402
- 1774
- 1775Exchanged territory Albany exchanged with Cumberland (extinct), lost to Charlotte (now Washington). · N.Y. Col. Laws, ch. 1719/5:779
- 1777Lost territory Albany lost territory when Vermont declared its independence from New York and became an independent republic; Albany eliminated from Vermont. · Slade, 70-73; Van Zandt, 64; C. Williamson, 82-84, map facing 95, 100-102, 112-113
- 1781Changed Bennington (Vermont) overlapped part of Albany when Vermont attempted to annex part of New York (known as West Union). New York did not lose control of the area. · Vt. State Papers, 13:45-46
- 1782Changed Bennington (Vermont) overlap of Albany ended when Vermont gave up its attempt to annex the West Union. · Vt. State Papers, vol. 3, pt. 2, pp. 67-68
- 1786Lost territory Albany lost to creation of Columbia. · N.Y. Laws 1786, 9th sess., ch. 28/p. 49
- 1788Changed New York, refusing to recognize the independence of Vermont and the elimination of Cumberland (extinct) in 1777, attempted unsuccessfully to adjust the former boundary between Albany and Cumberland (extinct) in Vermont, but to no effect.Cumberland· N.Y. Laws 1788, 11th sess., ch. 63/pp. 746-747
- 1791Lost territory Albany lost to Washington and to creation of Rensselaer and Saratoga. · N.Y. Laws 1791, 14th sess., ch. 4/p. 201
- 1795Lost territory Albany lost to creation of Schoharie. · N.Y. Laws 1795, 18th sess., ch. 42/p. 588
- 1798
- 1800Lost territory Albany lost to creation of Greene. · N.Y. Laws 1800, 23d sess., ch. 59/p. 503
- 1801Gained territory Albany gained from Schoharie. · N.Y. Laws 1801, 24th sess., ch. 123/p. 290
- 1809Lost territory Albany lost to creation of Schenectady. · N.Y. Laws 1808, 32d sess., ch. 65, sec. 1/p. 458
- 1888Lost territory Albany lost Havre Island to Saratoga. · N.Y. Laws 1888, 111th sess., ch. 42/p. 85
Land and parcels
What the maps cover in Albany
Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.
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Parcels Good enough
Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 112,804 parcels from New York State Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Clearinghouse. Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
edited 25 September 2026 · checked 15 October 2026 -
Address points Official
One point per address, 189,336 in all from NYS Office of Information Technology Services (ITS), Geospatial Services / GIS Program Office (AGOL org 'ShareGIS NY', owner NYSGIS_GPO).
edited 25 September 2026 · checked 14 October 2026 -
Buildings Reference
Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026
- Official
- from the office that keeps the record
- Good enough
- a reliable statewide or national copy
- Fallback
- a guide only; check the official record
- Missing
- nothing public found yet
People and land
Albany by the Census
Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Rules and offices
Albany County's official site
We have found the county's site but not its offices yet; start there.
County government
- County government
The official website of Albany County.
See your own lot on these maps
Open Albany County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.
Questions
Common questions about Albany County
- When was Albany County founded?
- Albany County was founded in 1683, and named after James II of England.
- What is the county seat of Albany County?
- The county seat of Albany County is Albany.
- Is there an online parcel map for Albany County?
- Yes. New York State Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Clearinghouse publishes a parcel map of 112,804 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
- Has Albany County's boundary or name changed?
- Albany County was created in 1683. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 23 later changes, chiefly involving Cumberland County, Washington County and Bennington (Vt.) County.
- Is my lot in a flood zone?
- We do not have flood maps for Albany County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.
Nearby