Our Community Survey: Trojans Showing Some Optimism for the Future
Vol. IV. No. 73 - Results from our Bi-Monthly Community Survey
Every two months, this publication asks our readers a series of questions in a short survey to gauge how our friends and neighbors feel about our hometowns. The same basic questions are asked to see if there are any shifts in how we belive our community is fairing and how we collectively feel about the place we call home. Our latest community survey shows a city that remains deeply connected to itself and a community that is somewhat more optomistic this summer than last.
That is the central story in July 2026. Residents still care about Troy. They still pay attention. They still identify with the community. But compared with data over the last year, they are more doubtful that the city — and the country, and the state — are moving in the right direction. The emotional bond is holding. The optimism is not.
The most striking change over the past year is not that residents have become detached. It is that they have become more skeptical.
In July 2025, 34% said the nation was on the right track. In July 2026, that number was 27%. More importantly, the share saying the nation was on the wrong direction rose from 48% to 57%.
At the state level, confidence slipped as well. In July 2025, 25% said Ohio was on the right track. In July 2026, that fell to 23%. The share saying the state was on the wrong direction held in the low 50s, moving from 46% to 51%.
But there is a small shift here in Troy. In July 2025, 12% said our community was going in the right direction. In July 2026, that number was 20%; a number that shows improvement. The share saying Troy was going in the wrong direction went down from 57% to 49%, and the share who were unsure remained stagnant at 31%. That means the city is starting to see a rebound in confidence.
Looking towards the future, the community seems just as fluid.
In July 2025, only 0% were “extremely confident” things would get better in their hometown in one year. In July 2026, that was still just 3%.
The more important trend is in the middle of the scale. “Somewhat confident” rose from 25% to 34%, which is a modest improvement. But that gain is offset by the fact that “somewhat not confident” stayed high at 29%, and “no change” fell sharply from 39% to 26%.
That drop in “no change” matters. It suggests residents are no longer assuming stagnation as a default. But the movement is not clearly toward optimism. It is more accurately described as unsettled. People are still waiting to see whether things improve, but they are not persuaded that improvement is underway.
One of the most important findings in this survey is that civic frustration has not turned into civic rejection.
In July 2025, 54% said they love their community. In July 2026, that number rose to 56%. Those who say they like the community, but do not love it, fell from 39% to 31%. That is not a collapse in civic attachment. It is a community that still has strong roots, even when people are dissatisfied with direction.
That distinction matters. Troy’s residents are not checked out. They are not indifferent. They are engaged enough to have opinions, and attached enough to want better. That makes the message to city leaders straightforward: the public is not asking for slogans. It is asking for results.
Public awareness is also holding at a healthy level.
In July 2025, 14% said they were extremely aware of what is going on in the community, and 48% were very aware. In July 2026, those numbers were 23% and 43%.
That means more residents are placing themselves at the top end of the awareness scale, while the share saying they are somewhat aware remains substantial at 32%. In practical terms, this is a relatively informed audience. They are not tuning out local affairs. They are paying attention, and they are forming judgments based on what they see.
This month our publication rolled out a special one-time question - a question on a timely topic that is being widely discussed by the community. This mont’s special question asked whether the City of Troy should put a roundabout at West Main Street and Experiment Farm Road / South Stanfield Road.
The answer is clear: there is skepticism about that location, even among people who are not opposed to roundabouts in general.
Here are the results from the 98 individuals that answered this question:
14.58% said, “No! I don’t like roundabouts and I don’t want one here!”
65.63% said, “No. I like roundabouts but this location doesn’t make sense.”
4.17% said, “Maybe. I need more information.”
4.17% said, “Yes. I am not a fan of roundabouts, but I understand why we should put one here.”
11.46% said, “YES! I love roundabouts and putting one here would fix more problems than it creates!”
The main takeaway is that opposition is not mainly emotional. It is practical. A large majority is saying, in effect, that roundabouts may be useful in the right place, but this is not the right place. That is a much more useful public signal than a simple yes-or-no split.
This is what it looks like when residents stay informed. If you find value in this work, share it with a neighbor, a colleague, or anyone who cares about this community. Paid subscriptions keep it going — $5 a month.
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