Key facts
- Country
- United States
- State
- New York
- Founded
- February 7, 1791 ; 235 years ago ( 1791-02-07 )
- Named after
- Kiliaen van Rensselaer
- Seat
- Troy
- Largest city
- Troy
- Total
- 665 sq mi (1,720 km )
- Land
- 652 sq mi (1,690 km )
- Water
- 13 sq mi (34 km ) 1.9%
- Estimate 2025
- 160,510
- Density
- 247/sq mi (95/km )
- Time zone
- UTC−5 ( Eastern )
- Summer dst
Article
Rensselaer County /rɛnsəˈlɪər/ ren-sə-LEER is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130, its highest decennial count ever. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. The county is part of the Capital District region of the state.
Rensselaer County is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area.