City · Rensselaer County, New York

Troy, New York

Troy is a city in Rensselaer County, New York, part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY metro area. It has 51,033 residents. Troy, New York has a quality-of-life score of 48 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,106 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within New York it ranks #716 of 859 cities and towns. It ranks best on public EV charging ports (high), public transit commuters (high) and students per teacher (low). It ranks worst on child poverty rate (high), effective property tax rate (high) and poverty rate (high).

48Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,106 of 15,651 cities and towns
New York: #716 of 859 in NY
Population: 51,033 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 4,927.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 3675484

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety77#3,579/15,637
Economy6#14,652/15,631
Housing22#11,698/14,977
Health52#7,547/15,609
Healthcare62#6,014/15,650
Environment73#4,192/15,453
Education67#5,233/15,649
Infrastructure63#5,859/15,650
Community45#8,590/15,651
Leisure & amenities19#12,718/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Troy, New York ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Rensselaer County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Public EV charging ports · high26.5 /10k
98/100New York 10.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyRensselaer County value
Public transit commuters · high5.1%
93/100New York 21.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Students per teacher · low11.4×
91/100New York 12.0×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsRensselaer County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100New York 4.8United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationRensselaer County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100New York 5.7United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationRensselaer County value
Drought exposure · low4%
87/100New York 15%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAARensselaer County value

Weaknesses

Child poverty rate · high40.5%
1/100New York 17.9%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Effective property tax rate · high2.04%
7/100New York 1.30%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Poverty rate · high23.4%
7/100New York 14.0%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
New business applications · low8.2 /1k
8/100New York 15.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauRensselaer County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high228 min
10/100New York 202 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRensselaer County value
Comfortable days · low23.2%
10/100New York 22.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationRensselaer County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
0.9 /1k (2021) → 1.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+77%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
26.8% (2015-2019) → 37.3% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.5% (2015-2019) → 88.9% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$45,728 (2015-2019) → $58,477 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
48.2% (2015-2019) → 52.7% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
36.8% (2015-2019) → 40.5% (2020-2024)
+3.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Troy, New York improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Property tax−0.6 points2.64% → 2.04%
Bachelor's++10 points26.8% → 37.3%
Household income+28%$45,728 → $58,477
Broadband+7.4 points81.5% → 88.9%

Declined2

Unemployment+2.3 points6.8% → 9.1%
Transit use−3.3 points8.4% → 5.1%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Troy, New York between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.9 min2015-2019	21.1 min2020-2024	−1.8 min	Within the margin of error	69%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.8%2015-2019	37.3%2020-2024	+10 points	Improved	91%
Broadband subscriptions	81.5%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Improved	46%
Child poverty rate	36.8%2015-2019	40.5%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Effective property tax rate	2.64%2015-2019	2.04%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Improved	94%
High school diploma or higher	86.8%2015-2019	89.0%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Home price to income ratio	3.3×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	64%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4722015-2019	0.4762020-2024	+0.004	Within the margin of error	47%
Median household income	$45,7282015-2019	$58,4772020-2024	+28%	Improved	51%
Poverty rate	24.4%2015-2019	23.4%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Public transit commuters	8.4%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Declined	10%
Rent as share of income	29.3%2015-2019	31.6%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Rent-burdened households	48.2%2015-2019	52.7%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Unemployment rate	6.8%2015-2019	9.1%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Declined	14%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.9%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Troy, New York five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Troy, New York in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Troy, New York itself moved +0.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

51,033 residents (±37)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

21,265 households (±591)

Troy, New York
New York share

Under $25k24%5,078
$25k–50k21%4,439
$50k–75k13%2,844

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

21,265 households (±591)

Troy, New York
New York share

Own37%7,944
Rent63%13,321

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

22,870 workers (±957)

Troy, New York
New York share

Drive alone61%13,935
Carpool8.5%1,943
Public transit5.1%1,172

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Rensselaer County, the county holding most of Troy's residents.

Rensselaer County has 2,985 employer establishments, 187 for every 10,000 residents (0.75× the US rate of 248; 0.68× New York's), with 46,817 paid employees at an average annual pay of $68,540. The Census Bureau also counts 10,494 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,985; 10,494 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 187; US 248 · New York 274
Paid employees: 46,817
Average annual pay: $68,540; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Rensselaer County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	283	17.7	0.97×About typical	3,622	$23,285	48
Specialty trade contractors	263	16.5	1.06×About typical	1,960	$89,010	715
Ambulatory health care services	176	11	0.53×Fewer than typical	2,470	$60,134	451
Construction of buildings	125	7.8	1.04×About typical	520	$66,533	324
Full-service restaurants	122	7.6	1.00×About typical	1,878	$25,224	14
Limited-service restaurants	116	7.3	0.91×About typical	1,296	$20,789	25
Services to buildings and dwellings	107	6.7	0.99×About typical	366	$55,333	498
Automotive repair and maintenance	96	6	1.19×About typical	452	$45,323	97
Building equipment contractors	89	5.6	0.93×About typical	950	$84,776	125
Religious organizations	81	5.1	0.91×About typical	377	$27,963	—
Lessors of real estate	79	4.9	0.40×Fewer than typical	336	$42,577	1,045
Computer systems design and related services	70	4.4	1.01×About typical	1,279	$113,889	130

Rank places for an industry Open Rensselaer County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 159,605 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1.3M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Troy, New York: $25.74 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1.3M; −20% vs FY2025
Per resident: $25.74; US $1,994
Sole-source: 44%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.9%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$538.8K41%
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration$268.2K20%
Department of the Air Force$253K19%
Department of the Army$136.4K10%
Department of Veterans Affairs$80.8K6.1%
U.S. Geological Survey$34.5K2.6%
Public Buildings Service$1,9940.2%

Top recipients

RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE$432.8K33%
POLICY RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC.$268.2K20%
STONEWALL DEFENSE LLC$253K19%
LITHOZ AMERICA, LLC$107K8.1%
COUNTY OF RENSSELAER$67K5.1%

Spending by fiscal year

962.1KFY2017
802.1KFY2018
604.8KFY2019
1MFY2020
1.3MFY2021
1.6MFY2022
1.4MFY2023
1.9M

Top industries (NAICS)

Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113$436.3K33%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$291.7K22%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$253K19%
Industrial machinery manufacturing · 3332$107K8.1%
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$67K5.1%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Troy, New York, so they do not add up across cities.

Troy, New York's figures are part of those of Rensselaer County, NY ($10M in FY2026), never added to them: 13% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Troy is mostly in Rensselaer County.

See federal money in Rensselaer County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Troy, New York is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Rensselaer County82100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY92

Other cities and towns in Rensselaer County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/3675484

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends