What stands out worked out from the figures below

Troy has the shortest commute (19 min average).

Athens has the most people working from home (19.3%).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Troy	Athens
People
Population	219Lowest	431Highest
Median age	65.3±26.4Highest 52% above VT	47.3±6.5Lowest 10% above VT
	Troy and Athens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.4%±7.9Highest VT: 17.9%	13.9%±6.5Lowest VT: 17.9%
	Troy and Athens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	51.1%±17.2Highest VT: 21.4%	21.6%±4.6Lowest VT: 21.4%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	9.3%Lowest VT: 43.8%	30.3%Highest VT: 43.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	3.2%±6.3Lowest VT: 7%	4.9%±3Highest VT: 7%
	Athens and Troy are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$91,688±$8kHighest 13% above VT	$68,438±$30kLowest 16% below VT
	Troy and Athens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$187,500±$46kLowest 41% below VT	$240,400±$32kHighest 24% below VT
	Athens and Troy are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,125±$537 9% below VT
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,480Lowest 51% below VT	$5,438Highest 8% above VT
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	43.5%±39 VT: 48.4%
Below poverty line	13.7%Highest VT: 10.1%	12.1%Lowest VT: 10.1%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	100%Highest VT: 73.2%	73.7%Lowest VT: 73.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1970Lowest 6 yrs older than VT	1973Highest 3 yrs older than VT
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	19 minLowest 19% below VT	36 minHighest 53% above VT
Work from home	3.7%±5.1Lowest VT: 16.9%	19.3%±7.5Highest VT: 16.9%
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

VT average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.