Trenton, New Jersey

Area Profile

90,338 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Trenton, in Mercer County.

44out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 7% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,653rd of 4,199 cities measured37
Schools3,751st of 4,162 cities measured18
Growth3,284th of 4,224 cities measured35
Housing affordability2,274th of 4,218 cities measured65
Climate2,215th of 4,225 cities measured70
Physical resilience3,011th of 4,226 cities measured36
Access3,134th of 4,226 cities measured83
Economic stability3,804th of 4,226 cities measured30
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 7.4% and the Opportunity signal places Trenton in the bottom 13%.

In the public schools here, 20% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.8 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 34% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 1.9 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
90,338
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$52,537
Bottom 27% nationally
Density
11,877/sq mi
7.6 sq mi of land
Median age
34.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New Jersey
Nearest major airport
PHL
35 mi · Philadelphia Intl
Median home value
$160,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 7.4% — higher than in all but 3% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 1.7% over the past year, to 36,741 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMercer County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$98,92580th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMercer County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$106,47887th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,8042024 ACS 5-Year$52,537Bottom 27%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,4862024 ACS 5-Year$28,236Bottom 31%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year21.5%Bottom 20%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.5 minBottom 41%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year16.2%Bottom 38%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year57.7%11th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202636,741Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.3%Bottom 49%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+1.7%Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202639,68140th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year71.0%Bottom 29%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageTrenton-Princeton, NJ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$82,560Top 17%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageTrenton-Princeton, NJ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$63,490Top 10%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%97th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.8%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20267.4%Bottom 3%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.1%47th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/07104.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 7.4% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 3 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202453k40k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $52,537 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Trenton-Princeton, NJ

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Business Operations Specialists, All Other5,570$89,370
Registered Nurses5,180$99,990
Home Health and Personal Care Aides4,920$37,760
Cashiers4,800$34,710
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand4,460$37,560
Fast Food and Counter Workers4,300$34,720

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

20% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 29% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.8 students for every full-time teacher across 36 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
39
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.8
across 36 of them
Math proficiency
19.6%
Bottom 5% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
28.9%
Bottom 3% in New Jersey
The 12 largest of 39 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Trenton Central High School - Main CampusTrenton Public School District2,09713.43%22%
Foundation Academy Charter School · charterFoundation Academy Charter School1,15519.945%48%
Ewing High SchoolEwing Township School District1,11812.420%39%
Trenton Central High School-9th Grade AcademyTrenton Public School District89015.18%16%
Gilmore J Fisher Middle SchoolEwing Township School District7899.233%42%
Capital City High SchoolTrenton Public School District75618.93%12%
William L Antheil Elementary SchoolEwing Township School District74611.139%40%
Hedgepeth Williams Intermediate SchoolTrenton Public School District66816.311%21%
Dr. Martin Luther King Middle SchoolTrenton Public School District65013.3——
Grant Intermediate SchoolTrenton Public School District61012.715%16%
Clara Parker Intermediate SchoolTrenton Public School District58314.616%24%
Trenton STEM-to-Civics Charter School · charterTrenton STEM-to-Civics Charter School56226.85%20%

74.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New Jersey’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 102.4, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Trenton-Princeton, NJ Metro Area is up 64% over five years, and up 5.2% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,404 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.74% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,820, some 41% above the $1,294 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,820 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $72,800 a year, about 139% of the median household income here of $52,537.

The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,294 a month.

A median home at $160,700 costs 1.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $86,517, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
102.4

Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Trenton-Princeton, NJ Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
34.0%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,820
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,294
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$160,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Trenton’s median household income of $52,537, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Trenton-Princeton, NJ Metro Area’s figure2023102.4Bottom 49%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Trenton-Princeton, NJ Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+5.2%80th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Trenton-Princeton, NJ Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+64.1%98th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Trenton-Princeton, NJ Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+99.6%61st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year1.9Top 27%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year37.9%4th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±8642024 ACS 5-Year34,51399th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,440Bottom 47%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,180Bottom 49%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,820Bottom 41%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$522024 ACS 5-Year$1,294Bottom 28%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,1362024 ACS 5-Year$160,70041st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2522024 ACS 5-Year$4,40486th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,3432024 ACS 5-Year$86,517Top 40%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.25%2024 ACS 5-Year2.74%99th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year34.0%Bottom 23%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±322024 ACS 5-Year2574th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%52nd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.1%50th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3932024 ACS 5-Year2,46198th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

35/ 100
Ranks 3,284 of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 4 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 91,193 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 4 calendar years through 2025. Over the twelve months since, it has turned the other way — against 4 the year before.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 91,193 residents in 2024, up 0.9% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 7 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Mercer County, which contains Trenton, lost about 0.8% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $98,925, below the $106,478 of households that moved out.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
7
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 6% nationally
Year over year
+75%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202491k90k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
49%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$98,925
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$106,478
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Middlesex County, NJ 2,407 people · 17% of arrivals
  2. Burlington County, NJ 1,049 people · 7.4% of arrivals
  3. Somerset County, NJ 765 people · 5.4% of arrivals
  4. Bucks County, PA 727 people · 5.1% of arrivals
  5. Hudson County, NJ 487 people · 3.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Burlington County, NJ 2,213 people · 13% of departures
  2. Middlesex County, NJ 1,652 people · 9.8% of departures
  3. Bucks County, PA 1,119 people · 6.7% of departures
  4. Somerset County, NJ 576 people · 3.4% of departures
  5. Monmouth County, NJ 517 people · 3.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Mercer County, NJ. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025734.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−93%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 24°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.6 inches, including 26.6 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and about 5 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station TRENTON MERCER CO AP, 4.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year712024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals45.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals26.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals24°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year52024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
71
90th percentile index
Days above 100
5
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

36 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 64% of it.

Strong windHigh
Inland floodingElevated
Ice stormModerate
HurricaneElevated
EarthquakeElevated
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, heat wave, lightning, cold wave, tornado, wildfire, coastal flooding, landslide, hail, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
808
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,415
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Trenton's police department reported 808 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,415.

Mercer County records 3.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 24.1 per 100,000 residents in Mercer County.

Homicide
3.7
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
24.1
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
7.3
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Trenton’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Trenton (Mercer County) rather than Trenton itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Philadelphia Intl at 35 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.0%Bottom 23%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle35 miBottom 23%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.9%Bottom 22%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Philadelphia IntlPHL35 mi12,000 ft
Newark Liberty IntlEWR45 mi9,999 ft
Atlantic City IntlACY54 mi10,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
44
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Other cities in Trenton-Princeton, NJ

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PrincetonMercer County30,75671Princeton vs Trenton
MercervilleMercer County13,53558Mercerville vs Trenton
Hamilton SquareMercer County11,62259Hamilton Square vs Trenton
White HorseMercer County10,50756

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Trenton side by side with a similar place.

Trenton vs PatersonTrenton vs New Haven

Moving to Trenton from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Trenton

7 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Trenton with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Trenton closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0861835,634$50,390$227,00045
0861131,995$56,788$160,500—
0863822,816$66,875$245,10048
0860915,938$68,238$103,700—
0862913,013$82,646$182,400—
086289,831$108,158$369,500—
086081,250$61,201$132,400—