Where UAlbany Students Live Off Campus: Pine Hills, Uptown and the Bus Line Between Them

UAlbany students who leave the dorms mostly land in Pine Hills, a neighborhood of old Albany houses 2 to 3 miles east of the Uptown Campus, where a house share runs about $450 to $650 a person. Of the UAlbany off-campus neighborhoods, the other big one is Washington Avenue right by campus, where a bed costs $895 to $1,385 and you walk to class. Downtown is a distant third, and one bus line (CDTA's Purple Line, free on your student ID) ties the whole map together.

Key Takeaways

• Block 75, Astro and Luna Studios are the walkable ones (0.5 to 0.6 miles).
• Pine Hills is where the house shares are. Expect a 2.1 to 3.0 mile trip to Uptown.
• The cheapest whole house we found is 284 South Allen St, a 4-bedroom at $1,400 (2.2 miles out).
• Want to be downtown? 318 State St and Abraxas at 90 State run $1,350 to $1,995 for a one-bedroom.
• Route 910, the Purple Line, comes every 10 to 20 minutes on Washington and Western. Your ID is your fare.
• "Can I move out after freshman year?" Usually no. UAlbany's rule is two years on campus.

How We Grouped These Areas

Every listing below comes from the Find My Place page for off-campus housing near UAlbany. Mileage is whatever each property page reports for the trip to the Uptown Campus. We turned that into walk times at 20 minutes a mile (rough, obviously). One more thing that confuses newcomers. Pine Hills isn't beside Uptown; it sits east of it, about halfway to downtown.

1. Washington Avenue by the Uptown Campus: Best If You Want to Walk

Want to roll out of bed and walk? This is your stretch, roughly 10 to 12 minutes on foot. Three buildings sit within a few blocks of each other here, all on Washington Avenue. Block 75 and Astro price by the bed, so you pay more but you don't need a full house of roommates.

• Block 75, 1475 Washington Ave (0.5 mi): $985 to $1,210 a bed in a 4-bedroom, up to $1,385 in a 2-bedroom. Rated 4.8.
• Astro Apartments, 1379 Washington Ave (0.6 mi): $895 per bed in a furnished 2-bedroom, the lowest bed price on this strip.
• Luna Studios, 1383 Washington Ave (0.6 mi): studios at $1,195 to $1,295 if you'd rather not share at all. (Reviews are mixed here, 3.4 out of 5, so read them first.)

Best for: students who hate buses, have early classes, or don't have a group of three friends ready to sign together.

2. The In-Between Band, About 1.5 Miles Out

A handful of listings sit closer to Uptown than Pine Hills does but don't come with the student-building price tag. Think of this as a compromise zone. You'll still want the bus most days, though the ride is short.

• 140 Rosemont St (1.4 mi): $665 for a 3-bedroom, according to the listing. That's cheap enough to make us suspicious, so ask whether it's per person before you plan around it.
• Stonehenge Gardens Apartments, 9 Circle Lane (1.5 mi): a real complex, rated 4.4, with studios starting at $1,480 and two-bedrooms near $1,800.

Stonehenge Gardens is the pick here if you want a managed apartment complex rather than a landlord-owned house.

3. West Pine Hills Around South Allen Street: Best Value Per Mile

The western edge of Pine Hills is the sweet spot on price and distance, about 2.1 to 2.2 miles from Uptown. Picture Pine Hills as a box: Manning Boulevard on the west, Lake Avenue on the east, Washington up top, Woodlawn along the bottom. South Allen is near the campus-side edge.

• 284 South Allen St (2.2 mi): four bedrooms for $1,400 total. That's $350 each if you fill it, low enough that you should confirm what's included before you get excited.
• 271 South Allen St (2.2 mi): one-bedrooms at $1,495 and two-bedrooms at $1,695.
• 819 Washington Ave (2.2 mi): a 3-bedroom first floor at $1,650 or a 4-bedroom second floor at $2,200.
• 165 S Pine Ave (2.1 mi): a whole 3-bedroom house at $2,500.

These are whole-unit prices. The landlord charges one rent and you split it, so the per-person number depends on filling every room.

4. Central Pine Hills: Best for Big House Shares

This is the classic UAlbany off-campus scene. Most of the house listings on the UAlbany page sit on Hamilton, Morris, Partridge, Yates and Ontario Streets, about 2.4 to 3.0 miles from Uptown. Many are rented a floor at a time. Bigger groups get the best math.

• 219 Partridge Street (2.6 mi): the 2nd and 3rd floor duplex, 4 bedrooms, $1,800. That's $450 each.
• 640 Morris Street (2.4 mi): a 4-bedroom at $2,000 or a 6-bedroom at $3,000, $500 a person either way.
• 212 Ontario Street (2.8 mi): two-bedroom floors at $1,300 each, or the full 5-bedroom house at $2,800.
• Hamilton St- A, 449 Hamilton St (2.9 mi): 4-bedroom floors at $2,560 and $2,680.
• 450 Yates St (2.9 mi): a 3-bedroom at $1,800.

No group? A couple of Hamilton Street landlords rent single rooms. At 523 Hamilton Street, 2.7 miles out, it's $650 for one room in a five-bedroom. At 433 Hamilton St, rooms start at $595.

5. Downtown and State Street: Best If Your Classes Are at the Downtown Campus

Pricey and far. Downtown sits 3.8 to 4.4 miles from Uptown, and nothing here rents by the bed. Live here for Downtown Campus classes or an internship a few blocks from the Capitol. Uptown every day? Skip it.

• 318 State St (3.8 mi) has a garden one-bedroom at $1,350 and another unit at $1,495.
• Abraxas at 90 State (4.4 mi), the 5.0-rated building where every layout is different (reviewers love that), asks $1,870 to $1,995.

The Bus Line Between Pine Hills and Uptown

Without the Purple Line, Pine Hills would be a hard sell. With it, the commute is easy. CDTA calls it Route 910: bus rapid transit up and down Washington and Western, from downtown Albany past UAlbany out to Crossgates Mall. CDTA's BusPlus page counts 14 stations (two of them are UAlbany Downtown and UAlbany Uptown) with a bus every 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the hour.

Late lab? Fine. Weeknight buses keep going until 1:30am, Saturdays until 2:30.

You won't pay a fare. UAlbany's mass transit page says current students can use their UAlbany ID (mobile counts) on all UAlbany and CDTA buses. That page also lists CDTA Route 10 on Western Avenue, Route 12 on Washington Avenue and Route 114 on Western and Madison as other ways in. One catch: UAlbany's own campus buses stay on the Uptown Campus, so from Pine Hills you're on CDTA.

Our advice? Before you sign anywhere in Pine Hills, check the walk from the front door to the closest Purple Line station on Western or Washington. Five minutes versus fifteen adds up in February.

Frequently Asked Questions About UAlbany Off-Campus Neighborhoods

Where do most UAlbany students live off campus?

Pine Hills. The streets around Hamilton, Morris, Partridge and South Allen hold most of the house shares on the Find My Place UAlbany page, at 2.1 to 3.0 miles from Uptown. If walking to class matters more than rent, look at Washington Avenue instead.

Is Pine Hills walking distance from the UAlbany Uptown Campus?

Not comfortably. At 2.1 to 3.0 miles, that's roughly 45 minutes to an hour on foot. Take the CDTA Purple Line instead (free with your student ID).

When can I move off campus at UAlbany?

Junior year, for most students. UAlbany's residential life office says students admitted as freshmen and sophomores must live on campus for their first two years, regardless of credits. Start your search during sophomore year.

How much does it cost to live in Pine Hills?

$450 to $650 a person is typical for a full house share. Examples: 219 Partridge Street works out to $450 each across 4 bedrooms, 640 Morris Street to $500, and single rooms on Hamilton Street list at $595 to $650. Those are base rents, and most listings haven't posted utilities or fees yet, so ask.