Rensselaer, New York
32 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Rensselaer City. It lies in ZIP code area 12144. It lies near Olcott Hill. The Survey maps it on the Troy South quadrangle. 9,210 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 16 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1893 to 1989The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


On record in Rensselaer
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 9 records
Fort CrailoNational Historic Landmark · listed 1966
Aiken Houselisted 1974
Beverwyck Manorlisted 1979
Clark-Dearstyne-Miller Innlisted 2008
W.P. Irwin Bank Buildinglisted 2007
Patroon Agent's House and Officelisted 1979
William Barnet & Son Shoddy Milllisted 2020- Harder Manufacturing Company-Albany Woolen Company Inc. Buildinglisted 2021
- Van Rensselaer High Schoollisted 2012
Population over time
2 figuresRensselaer fell from 9,392 to 9,210 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 9,392 | |
| 2020 | 9,210 | -182 (-2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
15 surveys from 32 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1893 USGS Troy quadrangle1:62500
- 1895 USGS Troy quadrangle1:62500
- 1898 USGS Troy quadrangle1:62500, 8 printings
- 1925 USGS Troy quadrangle1:48000
- 1928 USGS Troy quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1948 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS Troy quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Troy South quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS Troy South quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
1,025 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1,025 fires within 5 miles of Rensselaer between 1993 and 2020, burning about 804 acres in total. 51 started naturally. 184 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 627 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 184 |
| Debris and open burning | 53 |
| Natural | 51 |
| Smoking | 39 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 30 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 21 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.2 acres | Fire Department of New York | NA |
| 9 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 9 September 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 9 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.3 acres | Fire Department of New York | N/A |
| 8 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
9 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Rensselaer: 4 producers, 4 past producers, 1 occurrence. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Quartz. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Hill Deposit | Quartz | Occurrence | ||
| Albany Gravel Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Valente Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Albany Clay Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| Albany Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| East Greenbush Clay Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| East Greenbush Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Rensselaer Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Rensselear Clay Pit | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
16 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rensselaer in 16 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 11 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 lightning, 1 flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | 1 hurt | A National Weather Service storm survey team investigated thunderstorm wind damage in the City of Rensselaer. The team determined that straight line winds (microburst) impacted the area. Based on the damage assessment, mainly trees, the team estimated the maximum wind speeds at 90 to 100 MPH. Several trees fell on homes, causing minor structural damage. One of trees fell on a porch resulting in minor injuries to a man. |
| August 2008 | Flash Flood | Rensselaer | $4,000,000 | Very heavy rainfall from training thunderstorms led to significant urban and small stream flash flooding in and near the City of Rensselaer. A State of Emergency was declared in the City of Rensselaer as numerous roads were closed, with 6 or more feet of standing water reported on city streets. Evacuations of 50 to 75 homes occurred due to the flooding. Flooding was mainly concentrated along and near the banks of Quackenberry Creek, as well as near Mill Creek.||The Amtrak Station in Rensselaer was also closed due to the flooding.||Flash flooding also closed Routes 9 and 20, a portion of Route 151, and Luther Road, in East Greenbush. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | $35,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | $29,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Lightning | Rensselaer | $10,000 | no account filed |
| August 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | $4,000 | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Hail | Rensselaer | $2,000 | no account filed |
| March 2008 | Flood | Rensselaer | $1,000 | South Street at Aiken Avenue was closed due to flooding from heavy rainfall. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | - | A tree was downed on Seventh Street. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | - | Trees were reported down. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | - | Trees were reported down via Facebook due to thunderstorm winds in Rensselaer. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Rensselaer | - | Golf ball size hail was reported during a thunderstorm in Rensselaer. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | - | A tree was reported down on wires in Rensselaer due to strong thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | - | Law enforcement personnel reported numerous small trees blown down in Rensselaer. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rensselaer | - | Trees were blown down. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton Park | 1.5 miles | 31 | |
| Hampton Manor | 1.7 miles | 31 | |
| Clinton Heights | 1.7 miles | 31 | |
| Prospect Heights | 1.8 miles | 31 | |
| Rosemont Park | 1.9 miles | 32 | |
| Van Allen Park | 2.0 miles | 32 | |
| Hampton Park | 2.2 miles | 31 | |
| Defreestville | 2.6 miles | 32 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Rensselaer | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1380769 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 962384. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.














