08618Trenton, New Jersey

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 08618.

45out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 5% of 5,298 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity5555th of 6,210 published ZIP areas32
Schools3192nd of 4,422 published ZIP areas34
Growth4428th of 5,428 published ZIP areas31
Housing affordability4823rd of 6,685 published ZIP areas64
Climate3462nd of 6,789 published ZIP areas70
Physical resilience4771st of 6,709 published ZIP areas36
Access5083rd of 6,791 published ZIP areas83
Economic stability5745th of 6,742 published ZIP areas36
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published ZIP profiles: unemployment is 6.7% and the Opportunity signal places 08618 in the bottom 11%.

In the public schools here, 9% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.3 students for every teacher.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, hurricane and strong wind.

At a glance

Population
35,634
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$50,390
Bottom 15% nationally
Density
6,019/sq mi
5.9 sq mi of land
Median age
35.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Trenton
New Jersey
Metro area
Trenton-Princeton, NJ
Nearest major airport
PHL
35 mi · Philadelphia Intl
Median home value
$227,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.7% is lower than 4% of the 6,544 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment grew 0.4% over the past year, to 36,480 employed residents.

Median household income of $50,390 is below 85% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,516$50,390Bottom 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,443$29,501Bottom 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate21.0%Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.7 minBottom 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher24.7%Top 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment36,480Bottom 37%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.4%Bottom 27%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.4%Top 22%June 2026
Labor force39,090Bottom 37%June 2026
Labor force participation58.5%Bottom 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$82,560Top 13%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$63,490Top 9%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-1.5%Bottom 1%June 2026
Unemployment rate6.7%Top 4%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202450k43k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $50,390 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

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Trenton, NJ, the city containing this ZIP code.

9% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 28% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.3 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
13
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
9.2%
Bottom 24% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
27.8%
Bottom 21% in New Jersey
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Ewing High SchoolEwing Township School District1,11812.45%25%
Gilmore J Fisher Middle SchoolEwing Township School District7899.217%47%
Capital City High SchoolTrenton Public School District75618.9
Trenton STEM-to-Civics Charter School · charterTrenton STEM-to-Civics Charter School56226.810%32%
Joyce Kilmer Intermediate SchoolTrenton Public School District54615.2
Battle Monument Intermediate SchoolTrenton Public School District49915.610%10%
Arthur J. Holland Middle SchoolTrenton Public School District47412.2
Parkway Elementary SchoolEwing Township School District41811.38%29%
Joseph Stokes Elementary SchoolTrenton Public School District34712.9
Thomas Jefferson Intermediate SchoolTrenton Public School District32911.3
Benjamin C Gregory Elementary SchoolTrenton Public School District31113.03%10%
Cadwalader Elementary SchoolTrenton Public School District20012.5

66.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against New Jersey’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,102 takes 26% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 4.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
26.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,102
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$227,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income4.50Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate45.8%Bottom 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±70414,771Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$62$1,102Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,937$227,000Top 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income26.2%Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate8.8%Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
31/ 100
Ranks 4428 of 5,428 published city profiles

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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

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

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

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Trenton, NJ, the city containing this ZIP code.

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, 2.3 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index71.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation45.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall26.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low24°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10052024 calendar year
Median air quality index43.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing44°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. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

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.

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.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Mercer County records 4.5 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 5.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 23.8 per 100,000 residents in Mercer County.

Homicide
4.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
23.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
7.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Mercer County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around 08618 rather than 08618 itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 35 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Philadelphia IntlPHL35 mi12,000 ft
Newark Liberty IntlEWR45 mi9,999 ft
Atlantic City IntlACY56 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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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

08618 vs Trenton

How this ZIP area compares with Trenton as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

08618
Trenton
Median household income
$50,390
vs
$52,537
Per capita income
$29,501
vs
$28,236
Population density
6,019/sq mi
vs
11,877/sq mi
Median home value
$227,000
vs
$160,700
Median gross rent
$1,102
vs
$1,294
Homeownership rate
45.8%
vs
37.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher
24.7%
vs
16.2%
Poverty rate
21.0%
vs
21.6%
Median age
35.0
vs
34.8

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.