Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Troy's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Troy?
Your $100,000 in Troy has the same purchasing power as $97,561 in the average US city. You'd need $2,439 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Troy's cost index of 103, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Troy, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously you don't actually need a car and the air is clean, not just clean-ish, plus 1 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Troy's Walk Score is 84/100 — top-tier walkability by US standards. Groceries, coffee, work, social life: most of it lands within reasonable foot range of wherever you live. A lot of residents skip car ownership entirely, which is its own form of savings on top of the lifestyle change.
Troy's air quality index averages about 33 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Troy is about 21 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Troy's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Snow is just part of the winter in Troy. Average temperatures around 20°F mean the ground stays covered from December well into March, and a snowblower is less optional than aspirational.
Cold enough to plan around. Winter in Troy averages roughly 20°F, with stretches where daytime highs don't break freezing for weeks. Decent insulation, a real coat, and a car that starts in cold weather are non-negotiable.
Pleasantly warm. Troy's summer averages around 77°F — comfortable for outdoor evenings, hot enough on peak days to warrant AC but mild compared to the Sun Belt.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 7. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 7 or colder should survive a typical winter in Troy. (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Troy sits at about 243 feet (74 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Officially, Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, but most of the action lands between mid-August and mid-October. For Troy, that's when to keep half an eye on the National Hurricane Center forecast cone — and when an actual evacuation plan is worth having in the drawer if you're in a low-lying or coastal neighborhood.
Higher than average. Troy reports about 4,039 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
Roughly average. Troy's cost-of-living index is 103, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Yes — Troy is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 84/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 46 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $71,750 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Troy runs about $1,086/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.