Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Troy (9.1%) is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
About one in five work in Troy; the top destination outside it is Albany (19%, 8 miles). For jobs and income Troy is better than 22% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is among the most walkable U.S. towns (A+). Measured by household income, Troy is behind 76% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Troy, in a few figures
Troy trades workers with the towns around it
Troy has about as many jobs (17,286) as working residents (19,841), but they are mostly different people: 16,426 residents leave for work each day while 13,871 people come in. Only 20% of the jobs in Troy are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Troy are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 33 across New York. That’s about 92 hours a year less on the road than the typical New York worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Troy residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Troy
Job access by car holds Troy’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Troy could be anywhere from C− to C.
The daily commute in and out of Troy
On a workday 16,426 residents head out to work, 3,415 work right here, and 13,871 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.87 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Troy
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Troy workers work from home, vs 15% across New York. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 19,561 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across New York: 57% drive alone, 25% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Troy
About 20% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Where the trip to work from Troy ends
Where Troy clocks in
19% of workers
14% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Troy
17,286 jobs are based in Troy.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Troy, 2013 → 2023: 21,223 → 17,286. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Troy’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Troy is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Troy is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #57 of 758 in New York. Both inputs place Troy near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 22,870 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 97% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 77% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 10.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 94% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 19.7% of Troy households have no vehicle (New York 29.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Troy’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Troy sits among U.S. towns of 36,000 to 69,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Oakton VA | 36,528 | $161K | 4.6% | 1.9% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Clifton Park NY | 37,775 | $133K | 2.3% | 2.0% | 13% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Valley Stream NY | 40,379 | $133K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Perinton NY | 46,823 | $112K | 4.8% | 3.3% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 777 | Huntsville TX | 49,088 | $48K | 23.9% | 10.9% | 32% | C− |
| 778 | Hot Springs AR | 37,979 | $48K | 20.5% | 4.8% | 50% | C− |
| 779 | Troy NY | 50,912 | $58K | 23.4% | 9.1% | 17% | C− |
| 780 | Texarkana TX | 36,195 | $51K | 22.0% | 5.2% | 43% | C− |
| 781 | Cedar City UT | 41,871 | $64K | 18.9% | 4.0% | 51% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 846 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Troy, the top three, the last and three more from New York.
16% of Troy works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Colonie (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Troy workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy | – | C− | A+ | 21 min | $58,477 |
| Brunswick | under 2% | A | C+ | 27 min | $107,350 |
| Schaghticoke | under 2% | A | C− | 27 min | $107,083 |
| North Greenbush | 2% | A | B+ | 21 min | $117,372 |
| Watervliet | under 2% | C+ | A+ | 20 min | $57,919 |
| Green Island | under 2% | C− | A+ | 23 min | $59,406 |
| Green Island | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Wynantskill | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Waterford | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 23 min | $72,938 |
| Waterford | under 2% | B+ | B | 24 min | $87,089 |
| Colonie | 14% | A− | A− | 20 min | $101,676 |
Same-state neighbors only. Green Island: the same community as the village of that name, graded once. Wynantskill: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Troy’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Troy: questions
What is the median household income in Troy?
$58,477 (±$4,778) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $85,974 across New York and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Troy?
23.4%, against 14.0% across New York and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Troy?
21 minutes each way on average, against 33 across New York and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Troy work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Albany (19%, 8 mi), Colonie (14%, 6 mi), New York City (6%, 144 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Troy walkable?
Troy is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.4 out of 20, and 16% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Troy without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 20% of households have no car. 77% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Troy, from the people who make the trip.
More of Troy
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.