All towns › Capital Region › Saratoga County
Mechanicville city
Saratoga County · Capital Region · population 5,083 (2024)
D
49.1 / 100
readiness · coverage 100% · curved within band 5,000 and over
Five numbers
Median home value $186,500
Median gross rent $1,070
Drive to New York City 3 h 36 min
Main street businesses 41
Housing units permitted 0
Six factors
Each factor is the mean of its usable inputs; a missing or suppressed input is left out and lowers coverage. Open a card for every input, its raw value, the curve applied and the points it contributes.
Access weight 25% 48 / 100
How easy it is to reach the city, a regional hub and a train.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drive to New York City drive_min_nyc: lower is better; scores 1 at 60 min or less, falling in a straight line to 0 at 240 min. | 3 h 36 min | 0.14 | 1.1 | 2026-09 · osrm |
| Drive to nearest regional hub drive_min_regional_hub: lower is better; scores 1 at 15 min or less, falling in a straight line to 0 at 90 min. | 35 min | 0.74 | 6.1 | 2026-09 · osrm |
| Nearest rail station miles_to_rail_station: lower is better; scores 1 at 2 mi or less, falling in a straight line to 0 at 30 mi. | 13.8 mi | 0.58 | 4.8 | 2026 · rail |
Building stock weight 15% 85 / 100
Whether there is a pre-war fabric worth restoring.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1940 pre1940_share: higher is better; scores 1 at 0.6 or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 0.1. | 45% | 0.70 | 5.3 | 2020-2024 · acs |
| Historic district present has_nrhp_district: 1 when a National Register historic district lies within the place, otherwise 0. | Yes | 1.00 | 7.5 | 2026 · nrhp |
Main street weight 15% 34 / 100
How much storefront activity already exists per resident.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses per 1,000 residents osm_business_per_1k: higher is better; scores 1 at 20 per 1,000 or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 2 per 1,000. | 8.1 per 1,000 | 0.34 | 5.1 | 2026-09 · osm |
Price headroom weight 15% 91 / 100
Whether prices leave room to rise without having already been found.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value median_home_value divided by metro_median_home_value. price ratio to the metro median: cheapest is not best: a town priced well below its metro has headroom, one priced far below it has no demand yet, and one at or above it has already been found; scores 1 at 0.6, and 0 at or below 0.25 and at or above 1.2, with straight lines between. | $186,500 | 0.91 | 13.7 | 2020-2024 · acs |
| Metro median home value | $285,900 | context | — | 2020-2024 · acs |
Services weight 15% 37 / 100
Broadband, families with children, and a hospital within reach.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband subscription broadband_100_share: higher is better; scores 1 at 0.9 or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 0.5. | 71.2% | 0.53 | 2.6 | 2020-2024 · acs |
| Share under 18 under_18_share: higher is better; scores 1 at 0.25 or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 0.12. | 19.5% | 0.58 | 2.9 | 2020-2024 · acs |
| Hospital within 20 minutes hospital_within_20min: 1 when a hospital is within a 20-minute drive, otherwise 0. | No | 0.00 | 0.0 | 2026-09 · osrm |
Civic capacity weight 15% 0 / 100
Whether the state has backed the downtown with a revitalization award.
| Input | Value | Normalised | Points | Period · source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latest downtown award dri_award_amount: higher is better; scores 1 at 1e+07 USD or more, falling in a straight line to 0 at 0 USD. | $0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 2016-2025 · dri |
| Latest award year dri_award_year: 1 when the award is at most 3 years old, fading in a straight line to 0.3 at 10 years and staying there. | not applicable | — | — |
More figures
Median household income $50,675
Vacant housing share Not available at this sample size
Poverty rate 18.1%
Population change since 2020 -1.5%
Units permitted per 1,000 residents Not available at this sample size
Historic districts 1
Drive to nearest regional hub 35 min
Drive to nearest hospital 26 min
State downtown awards 0
Zillow home value index $497,923
Zillow observed rent $1,596
Peers
Capital Region towns in the same population band (5,000 and over), by readiness.
| # | Town | Population | Grade | Readiness | Home value | Drive to NYC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Watervliet | 10,268 | A | 75.4 | $179,700 | 3 h 15 min |
| 2 | Rensselaer | 9,453 | A | 72.0 | $208,900 | 3 h 8 min |
| 3 | Scotia | 7,321 | A | 71.9 | $189,900 | 3 h 26 min |
| 4 | Cohoes | 18,530 | B | 68.5 | $223,400 | 3 h 18 min |
| 5 | Hudson | 5,735 | B | 66.9 | $389,900 | 2 h 41 min |
| 6 | Colonie | 7,691 | B | 65.0 | $285,400 | 3 h 12 min |
| 7 | Glens Falls | 14,455 | C | 57.4 | $212,200 | 4 h 7 min |
| 8 | Mechanicville | 5,083 | D | 49.1 | $186,500 | 3 h 36 min |
| 9 | Saratoga Springs | 28,741 | D | 45.2 | $478,100 | 3 h 45 min |
| 10 | Hudson Falls | 7,359 | F | 44.2 | $165,200 | 4 h 14 min |
Compare with the two nearest peers →
Sources for this page
Every figure above comes from one of these files, pulled on the date shown. The key is the exact snapshot in our archive.
| Source | Period | Pulled | Figures | Snapshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Homes built before 1940 | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25034_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Metro median home value | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25077_cbsa.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Median home value | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25077_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Share under 18 | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B09001_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Median gross rent | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25064_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Median household income | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B19013_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Vacant housing share | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B25002_place.json |
| American Community Survey 5-year estimates | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Poverty rate | raw/acs/2026-09-18/acs5_2024_B17001_place.json |
| Building Permits Survey, place-level annual (Northeast region) | 2025 | 2026-09-18 | Housing units permitted, Units permitted per 1,000 residents | raw/permits/2026-09-18/ne2025a.txt |
| Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward awards | 2016-2025 | 2026-09-18 | Latest downtown award, State downtown awards | raw/dri/2026-09-18/manifest.json |
| National Register of Historic Places, spatial data | 2026 | 2026-09-18 | Historic district present, Historic districts | raw/nrhp/2026-09-18/ny_districts_polygons.json |
| OpenStreetMap via Overpass API | 2026-09 | 2026-09-18 | Businesses per 1,000 residents, Main street businesses | raw/osm/2026-09-18/3646360.json |
| OSRM routing (public demo server) | 2026-09 | 2026-09-18 | Drive to New York City, Drive to nearest regional hub, Hospital within 20 minutes, Drive to nearest hospital | raw/osrm/2026-09-18/3646360.json |
| Population Estimates, sub-county (cities and towns) | 2020-2024 | 2026-09-18 | Population change since 2020 | raw/popest/2026-09-18/sub-est2024.csv |
| Rail stations (Amtrak and Metro-North) | 2026 | 2026-09-18 | Nearest rail station | raw/rail/2026-09-18/amtrak_stations.json |
| Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) and Observed Rent Index (ZORI), city level | 2026-08 | 2026-09-18 | Zillow home value index | raw/zillow/2026-09-18/zhvi_city.csv |
| Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) and Observed Rent Index (ZORI), city level | 2026-08 | 2026-09-18 | Zillow observed rent | raw/zillow/2026-09-18/zori_city.csv |
Score computed 2026-09-18 with methodology v1. Something wrong? Send a correction.