Troy grew up from humble beginnings along the wagon route from St. Joseph, Missouri to Oregon and California. British explorer Richard Francis Burton en route to California in 1860 noted: "Passing though a few wretched shanties called Troy ..."

Troy is located at 39°47′17″N 95°05′27″W / 39.788099°N 95.090840°W / 39.788099; -95.090840 (39.788099, -95.090840).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.9 km2), all of it land.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,054 people, 439 households, and 295 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,473.4 people per square mile (565.2/km2). There were 474 housing units at an average density of 662.6/sq mi (254.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 98.77% White, 0.28% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population.

There were 439 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,786, and the median income for a family was $37,039. Males had a median income of $28,229 versus $19,706 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,138. About 13.4% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

Denton | Elwood | Highland | Leona | Severance | Troy | Wathena | White Cloud

Burr Oak | Center | Independence | Iowa | Marion | Union | Washington | Wayne | Wolf River

Bendena | Doniphan | Iowa Point