Albany, New York

Skyline of Albany, NY, from across the Hudson river, May 2009.

Albany, New York is the capital of New York (U.S. state) and is located in upstate New York state (northern half). In the 2020 census, the Albany metropolitan area contained about 635,000 people.

Albany lies about 135 miles (220 km) north of the state's largest city, New York, New York. Albany lies on the west bank of the Hudson River, a few miles south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. The city is near the north end of the navigable Hudson River. Albany is on the Amtrak line to New York City, a 2.5-hour trip by train. Although theoretically it can be driven in about the same amount of time, in practice congestion on the New York Thruway means that it will often take about four hours to drive between the two cities.