Carmella for Troy

Housing and hardship in Troy and Rensselaer County

How hard it is to afford a home here right now, from public data. See the history and the full picture.

Rent costs more than the typical Troy renter can pay

A common rule is that rent and utilities should take no more than 30% of income. For the typical Troy renter household, that is about $1,028 a month. The typical apartment for rent now costs about $1,620 with utilities.

The asking rent is from September 2026 and leaves out utilities. In Census data, the typical Troy rent is $1,026 without utilities and $1,175 with them, so we added about $150. The income is from 2020-24, in 2024 dollars, and incomes have likely risen some since then. Sources: Zillow Observed Rent Index, Census rent and renter income.

What this means for you: the typical Troy renter household would be about $590 a month short. That is about $7,100 a year.

Check what you can afford

Type in your household's yearly income before taxes. Nothing you type leaves this page.

It starts at the typical Troy renter household's income.

The counts of empty apartments come from a survey. For one city, each count could be off by a lot, so read this as a rough guide. They are from 2020-24, and rents have risen since then, so fewer apartments are this cheap now. Source: Census rent asked for empty units.

More than half of Troy renters pay too much for rent

Out of every 100 Troy renter households, here is how much of their income goes to rent and utilities.

Census 5-year estimate for 2020-24. Five years earlier, 48 of every 100 paid 30% or more. Source: Census rent as a share of income.

What this means for you: about 3,300 Troy renter households pay half or more of their income for rent. That leaves little for food, heat, and medicine.

More than half of Troy households can't cover basic costs

These households are in poverty, or they work but earn too little to pay for housing, child care, food, travel, and health care. The second group is called "ALICE," short for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.

Troy figures are for 2019-23, the county for 2023. Source: United For ALICE.

More people are in shelter than there are shelter beds

On one night in January 2025, 419 people were counted homeless in Troy and Rensselaer County. That is up 55% from the year before, while the statewide count fell 8%. About 4 in 10 were children.

A one-night count misses people staying with friends or family. Sources: HUD point-in-time counts, HUD shelter bed counts, NYS Comptroller.

What this means for you: when the regular beds are full, the county pays for overflow space, which can include motel rooms.

More students are living in hotels and motels

Schools count students who have no fixed, regular place to sleep. In Rensselaer County, the number living in hotels or motels went from 47 to 240 in six years.

Source: NYS-TEACHS, from state education data, NYSED enrollment data.

What this means for you: in 2024-25, about 1 in 14 Troy City School District students was homeless. In a class of 25, that is about 2 students.

Other signs of strain

Tap any of these to see more.

8,544county households a month got SNAP food benefits in 2025Up from 7,611 in 2019

Source: NYS SNAP caseloads

$383 millionowed on National Grid home bills more than 60 days late, June 2026Up from $217 million in June 2019

This covers all of National Grid's upstate customers, not only this county. Shutoffs in June went from 9,059 in 2019 to 13,701 in 2026.

Source: NYS utility credit data

40.5%of Troy children live in poverty, 2020-24Up from 36.8% in 2015-19

The county rate is 17.8%, and the state rate is 18.3%.

Source: Census child poverty

12.3%of county residents don't always have enough food, 2024Up from 10.9% in 2019

For children it is 18.1%, up from 16.3%.

Source: Feeding America

$9.5 millioncounty spending on cash aid for families with children, 2025Up from $6.2 million in 2021

Cash aid for adults and families with no other help went from $2.7 million to $4.8 million. Since 2023 the county has also spent about $470,000 a year on rent help for families at risk of losing their homes.

Source: County budgets

Two more things to know