PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Trenton-Princeton, NJ

46.7
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#244
of 387 metros
37%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Trenton ranks #244 of 387 US metros, ahead of 37% - carried by its wages (97/100) and held back most by schools (6/100).

97
strongest: Wages
90
then: Environment
6
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Trenton sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

47 37th percentile higher than 37% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Trenton Life Score

Trenton's composite score of 46.7 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #244 of 387, ahead of 37% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (97/100) and Environment (90/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (6/100) and Rent (10/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 103.2 (rent-RPP 135.1). BLS median salary $80,061, 220,910 jobs (Business Operations Specialists, All Other, Registered Nurses, Home Health and Personal Care Aides). HUD 2BR FMR $1,950/mo (studio $1,344).

FBI UCR (NJ): 216 violent, 1396 property/100K. NCES: 11.8:1 ratio, 3.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $15,732/yr. EPA: 153 Superfund sites (NJ). Ranks #241-#247 below.

Dimension detail

How Trenton scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 12/100 (20%)
Wages 97/100 (20%)
Rent 10/100 (15%)
Safety 82/100 (15%)
Schools 6/100 (10%)
Childcare 15/100 (10%)
Environment 90/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

103.2
Cost Index (RPP)
$80,061
Avg Median Salary
$1,950
2BR Fair Market Rent
216
Violent Crime/100K (NJ)
11.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$15,732
Infant Childcare/yr (NJ)
153
Superfund Sites (NJ)
220,910
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Trenton With...

Trenton vs Vineland Compare → Trenton vs Philadelphia Compare → Trenton vs Atlantic City Compare → Trenton vs Wildwood Compare → Trenton vs Waterloo Compare → Trenton vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Trenton outranks 37% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#241 Lewiston-Auburn, ME 46.8 C+
#242 Syracuse, NY 46.9 C+
#243 Coeur d'Alene, ID 46.9 C+
#244 Trenton-Princeton, NJ 46.7 C+
#245 El Centro, CA 46.7 C+
#246 Asheville, NC 46.6 C+
#247 El Paso, TX 46.6 C+

NJ Metro Scores

Vineland, NJ B- 49.4 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD C 45.4 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ D 37.3 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ D 36.5 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ D 35.1

Using Trenton's Life Score

Trenton is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (97/100) and its weakest is schools (6/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Trenton head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Trenton lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Trenton's biggest strengths? ▼
Trenton's strongest dimensions are Wages (97/100), Environment (90/100), Safety (82/100). Wages is top-tier nationally.
What are Trenton's weakest areas? ▼
Trenton's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (6/100), Rent (10/100), Cost of Living (12/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Trenton compared to the national average? ▼
Trenton's Regional Price Parity is 103.2 (3.2% more than national); rent RPP 135.1.
What is the average salary in Trenton? ▼
Trenton median salary: $80,061, 220,910 jobs. Top: Business Operations Specialists, All Other, Registered Nurses, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Trenton's 46.7/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.