Atlantic City composite
37.3 /100
Grade D · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Atlantic City vs Trenton
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ and Trenton-Princeton, NJ side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 37.3
- Atlantic City Life Score
- D
- Atlantic City grade
- 46.7
- Trenton Life Score
- C+
- Trenton grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Atlantic City scores higher on 4 (cost of living, rent, safety, childcare) and Trenton on 3 (wages, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Atlantic City vs Trenton across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Atlantic City Trenton ◗
cost of living
25
12
wages
78
97
rent
11
10
safety
82
82
schools
6
6
childcare
15
15
environment
5
90
Atlantic City and Trenton differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Atlantic City has a cost-of-living index of 98.9 vs Trenton's 103.2 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $73,017 in Atlantic City and $80,061 in Trenton. A 2-bedroom averages $1,867/mo vs $1,950/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Atlantic City vs Trenton Comparison
Atlantic City (NJ) and Trenton (NJ) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 98.9 for Atlantic City against 103.2 for Trenton, a 4.3-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,867/mo in Atlantic City and $1,950/mo in Trenton, a $83/mo difference that compounds to $996 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $73,017 across 161,030 jobs in Atlantic City against $80,061 across 220,910 jobs in Trenton. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Atlantic City carries the same local purchasing power as $104,373 in Trenton - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 215.7 per 100,000 residents in NJ vs 215.7 in NJ, with property-crime rates of 1395.7 and 1395.7 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: NJ lists 2,509 public schools at a 11.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while NJ lists 2,509 schools at 11.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $15,732/yr in the Atlantic City area versus $15,732/yr in Trenton - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Atlantic City and Trenton are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Trenton composite
46.7 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-4.3 pts
Atlantic City vs Trenton BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$83 /mo
Trenton priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Atlantic City
Atlantic City composite (Grade D)
Trenton
Trenton composite (Grade C+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Atlantic City | Trenton |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 98.9 | 103.2 |
| Goods | 99.8 | 99.8 |
| Services | 109.2 | 112.3 |
| Rents | 98.7 | 135.1 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Trenton gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Atlantic City?
$
Equivalent in Trenton:
$104,373
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Atlantic City: 98.9, Trenton: 103.2, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Atlantic City | Trenton |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,346/mo | $1,344/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,537/mo | $1,545/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,867/mo | $1,950/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,586/mo | $2,338/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,851/mo | $2,670/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Atlantic City | Trenton |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $73,017 | $80,061 |
| Total Employment | 161,030 | 220,910 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Atlantic City (NJ) | Trenton (NJ) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 215.7 | 215.7 |
| Property Crime | 1395.7 | 1395.7 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | NJ | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,509 | 2,509 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 11.8:1 | 11.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 3.3% | 3.3% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | NJ | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $15,732/yr | $15,732/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $15,377/yr | $15,377/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $15,377/yr | $15,377/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | NJ | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 404 | 404 |
| Water Systems | 619 | 619 |
| Superfund Sites | 153 | 153 |
| Water Violations | 1,109 | 1,109 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Atlantic City | Trenton |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 35.0 | 43.0 |
| Good Air Days | 82.5% | 67.2% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 5 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | NJ | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 6/100 | 6/100 |
| Total Violations | 204,988 | 204,988 |
| Health-Based Violations | 22,229 | 22,229 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.0% | 95.0% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | NJ | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 126 | 126 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | NJ | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 9/100 | 9/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 90.8 | 90.8 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 92.1 | 92.1 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Atlantic City more expensive than Trenton? ▼
Atlantic City has a cost of living index of 98.9 compared to Trenton's 103.2 (national average = 100). Trenton is 4.3 points above Atlantic City on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Atlantic City and Trenton? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,867/mo in Atlantic City vs $1,950/mo in Trenton, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,346/mo to $1,344/mo.
How do salaries compare between Atlantic City and Trenton? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $73,017 in Atlantic City and $80,061 in Trenton, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Atlantic City has the same purchasing power as $104,373 in Trenton.
Is Atlantic City or Trenton safer? ▼
At the state level, NJ has a violent crime rate of 215.7 per 100,000 residents compared to NJ's 215.7 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1395.7 vs 1395.7 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Atlantic City and Trenton? ▼
NJ has 2,509 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 11.8:1, while NJ has 2,509 schools at 11.8:1. Charter schools make up 3.3% of NJ schools vs 3.3% in NJ. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial