The Saratoga Springs Housing Crisis

Saratoga Springs border sign seen from Greenfield, New York (2021) by Tyler A. McNeil (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Saratoga Springs is the wealthiest city in the Capital Region of New York State and, predictably, has a high cost of living. The problem is that the city’s higher-than-average income is not evenly spread across professions and economic classes.

The cost of living in Saratoga Springs is significantly higher than the national average, by about 14–22% [1][2]. While the income of some workforce professions, such as nurses, is proportionally higher than the national average when considering the cost of living in Saratoga Springs [3], others, such as retail sales associates and independent contractors, earn more than the national average but not enough to keep pace with the city’s elevated cost of living [4][5]. The average salary for teachers and restaurant servers is nearly the same as the national average [6][7]. Some professions, such as construction workers, are actually below the national average [8]. The annual salary of entry-level graduates in New York State is slightly higher than the national average, but it is not proportional to the higher-than-average cost of living in the city [9], and is likely inflated due to the significantly higher wages in New York City when compared to the rest of the state [10].

This disparity creates an unsustainable economic environment that threatens the long-term stability of Saratoga Springs. As the cost of housing and daily essentials outpaces the wages of essential employees, the city risks a mass exodus of vital workers who can no longer afford to live where they serve. This inevitably leads to severe workforce shortages in critical sectors like education, construction, and hospitality.

Recent market data show that the average rent in Saratoga Springs is roughly $2,700 per month, with one-bedroom apartments around $1,865 and two-bedroom apartments around $2,395 [11]. Homeownership is even further out of reach for many workers, with Zillow estimating the average Saratoga Springs home value at more than $636,000 in 2026 [12].

Local business leaders and economic stakeholders have increasingly identified workforce housing as a growing concern for Saratoga Springs’ long-term economic stability. In a public statement on workforce housing, the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce emphasized the importance of expanding housing options for the employees and service workers who sustain the local economy [13]. These pressures are especially significant in a city whose economy depends heavily on seasonal tourism, hospitality, restaurants, events, and service-sector labor.

The Capital Region Housing Affordability Study further demonstrates how narrow the margin has become for renters in Saratoga County [14]. The study found that the average Saratoga County renter wage in 2023 was $20.81 per hour, barely above the $20.75 hourly wage needed to afford a one-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. However, the same renter would need $25.25 per hour to afford a two-bedroom unit, leaving a $4.44 hourly wage gap. This means that even renters earning around the county average may be only one rent increase, family change, or unexpected expense away from being priced out. The burden becomes even clearer when measured in work hours. According to the study, a Saratoga County renter would need to work about 40 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom apartment at fair market rent, but about 49 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom [14]. For single parents, families with children, or workers in lower-wage service jobs, that makes stable housing increasingly difficult without taking on excessive hours, multiple jobs, or relocating outside the community. The study also shows that housing costs are rising faster than workers’ incomes. From 2022 to 2023, renter wages increased by only 3.3%, while fair market rents for both one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments increased by 8.8% [14]. In other words, even workers whose wages went up were still losing ground in the housing market.

These concerns are not new. A Skidmore College-affiliated affordable housing case study published more than a decade ago similarly warned that rising housing costs in Saratoga Springs were already placing increasing pressure on teachers, service workers, emergency personnel, and other essential workers [15]. Many of the workforce and affordability challenges identified in the study have continued to intensify in the years since, suggesting that the city’s housing imbalance has evolved into a long-term structural issue rather than a temporary market fluctuation.

This is not only a housing issue, but a business retention and economic development issue. When employers cannot reliably hire workers within or near the city, they may be forced to raise wages beyond what smaller businesses can sustain, reduce hours, limit services, or delay expansion. Over time, this weakens the very local economy that Saratoga Springs’ high property values and tourism economy depend on.

A 2023 Times Union editorial warned that Saratoga County’s lack of affordable housing could threaten continued tourism growth, noting that the county’s tourist destinations generated $647.5 million in local economic activity in 2021 while employers were already struggling with worker shortages. The editorial specifically argued that business leaders had “long warned that a lack of affordable housing will make it hard for employers to find workers” [16].

As these workers are pushed into neighboring areas, they are forced to become long-distance commuters. Such a shift carries heavy consequences for the local economy because the city loses out on potential property taxes and local spending that would otherwise circulate within the community. This dependence on an outside workforce also leads to increased traffic congestion and accelerated wear on city roads, creating a higher maintenance burden for the municipality while ultimately diminishing the economic resilience and quality of life for all residents.

Regional transportation and workforce studies have already identified this pattern emerging within the Capital Region. A Capital Region Metropolitan Planning Organization job access report found that “low-income workers and workers of color are more likely to bear the burden of long commutes due to housing affordability,” further noting that the “mismatch between affordable housing and low-wage jobs” contributes directly to increased commuting burdens [17]. As housing costs continue to rise in Saratoga Springs, more essential workers may be forced to live farther from the city, increasing transportation strain, traffic congestion, and economic dependence on an increasingly displaced regional workforce.

This trajectory mirrors the crisis in Aspen, Colorado, where extreme housing costs eventually forced businesses to shorten hours and schools to struggle with staffing, as the local workforce was entirely priced out of the community they maintained [18].

When essential workers are able to live in the city, their commutes to work, shopping, and recreation are shorter, often within walking distance or a short bus ride from home. By ensuring that the people who make the city run can also afford to reside there, the city can reduce pollution, ease congestion, and foster a more self-sustaining and accessible local ecosystem. A city that houses its own workforce also secures a more stable and diverse tax base, ensuring that wealth generated locally stays within the local economy to fuel future growth and innovation.

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References

[1] PayScale. (2024). Cost of living in Saratoga Springs, New York.

[2] ERI Economic Research Institute. (2024). Cost of living in Saratoga Springs, New York.

[3] Indeed. (2026). Registered nurse salary in Saratoga Springs, NY.

[4] Indeed. (2026). Retail sales associate salary in Saratoga Springs, NY.

[5] Indeed. (2026). Independent contractor salary in Saratoga Springs, NY.

[6] ZipRecruiter. (2024). Teacher salary in Saratoga Springs, NY.

[7] Indeed. (2026). Server salary in Saratoga Springs, NY.

[8] Indeed. (2026). Construction laborer salary in Saratoga Springs, NY.

[9] ZipRecruiter. (2024). Entry level graduate salary in New York.

[10] U.S. Census Bureau. (2024). Selected economic characteristics: 2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, Table DP03.

[11] Zillow. (2026). Average rental price in Saratoga Springs, NY.

[12] Zillow. (2026). Saratoga Springs, NY housing market.

[13] Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce. (2024). Let’s Make Building Workforce Housing a Priority.

[14] Capital District Regional Planning Commission. (2024). Capital Region Housing Affordability Study.

[15] Bosche, B., Durante, M., & Patterson, T. (2010). Affordable Housing in Saratoga Springs: A Case Study. Skidmore College.

[16] Times Union. (2023). Editorial: Lack of affordable housing could stunt Saratoga County tourism growth.

[17] Capital Region Metropolitan Planning Organization. (2022). Capital Region Job Access Study.

[18] Destination Think. (2019, October 15). Travel, the housing crunch, and four-hour commutes in Aspen.