Living in Troy, AL

Pike County

Troy is a genuine college town in Alabama's Wiregrass region, built around Troy University's main campus -- a real, distinct identity from Dothan's own agricultural economy documented elsewhere in this project. Troy University enrolled roughly 14,156 students across all its campuses and online programs combined as of Fall 2022, the most recent confirmed figure this research pass found; this record discloses directly that this figure is not current-year or main-campus-specific, since the university also operates a separate Montgomery campus (774 students, per this project's own Montgomery record) and other extension sites. Troy's own median age (25.3) is dramatically younger than every other market in this dataset's Tier B batch -- a direct, real demographic signature of the university's large student population, rather than a broad citywide profile. Troy's population has run essentially flat over the past decade and a half (18,033 in 2010, 17,727 in 2020, a 2026 estimate of 18,042), with a median household income of $36,150 that runs meaningfully below several other Alabama markets in this project, and Pike County carrying a real, disclosed 20% poverty rate and 12% uninsured rate. Housing runs genuinely affordable, though with a real, disclosed tension in recent pricing data: one snapshot cited a $220,000 median sale price, down a striking 18.2% year-over-year, against a separately cited $290,774 figure from a different period -- both disclosed given Troy's genuinely small housing-transaction volume as a smaller college town. Property tax runs genuinely low: Pike County's 0.24% effective rate sits below both the Alabama and US averages. Troy's most serious, honestly-disclosed weak point is crime: NeighborhoodScout describes Troy as having "one of the highest crime rates in America" (42 per 1,000 residents), genuinely more serious than Dothan's own already-serious figure documented elsewhere in this project, with more than 94% of Alabama communities carrying a lower crime rate. Troy carries zero hurricane risk but a genuinely extensive, directly-confirmed tornado history -- 115 tornadoes recorded within 25 miles since 1950 (6 violent, EF3+), including a 1969 F4 that killed two people along a 52.4-mile track, plus three separate confirmed EF2 events in 2022 and 2025 alone, the most recent of which (March 2025) injured three people and damaged multiple downtown Troy businesses and homes.

Explore Troy in depth

• Moving to Troy: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Troy
• Housing in Troy
• Taxes & Insurance in Troy
• Climate in Troy
• Schools & Families in Troy
• Healthcare & Safety in Troy
• Pros and Cons of Living in Troy
• Best Areas to Live in Troy

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Young professionals and students connected to Troy University seeking genuinely affordable housing and low property tax in a real college-town setting; buyers prioritizing small-town, Wiregrass-region affordability who are comfortable with Troy's own genuinely serious crime and tornado-risk profile, honestly disclosed here rather than downplayed.

Maybe not for you if: Buyers most sensitive to crime-rate statistics should weigh Troy's own genuinely serious NeighborhoodScout finding (one of the highest crime rates in America, more elevated than Dothan's own figure) directly and seriously; buyers seeking a mature, stable population base rather than a university-driven demographic should note Troy's median age (25.3) is dramatically younger than typical, driven by the student population; and anyone requiring precise, current housing-market data should note this record's disclosed tension between two differently-timed price figures given Troy's genuinely small transaction volume.