Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Trenton earns a D−, 450th of 466 graded towns in New Jersey, mostly because of schools and safety. Its public schools score at or near the bottom of New Jersey. Its crime rate is higher than 94% of U.S. towns, with 737 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 98% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 44 places on the National Register. Trenton’s violent crime rate is 8.1 per 1,000 residents, above both the New Jersey town median (0.7) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). Only 11 of New Jersey’s 530 towns score higher on cost of living. Its National Register listings include William Trent House and Old Barracks.
Where Trenton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
William Trent House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Patton J. Hill Elementary School | K–3 | 555 |
| Paul Robeson Charter School for the Humanities | K–8 | 545 |
| Luis Munoz-Rivera Elementary School | K–3 | 468 |
William Trent House is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 44 National Register listings are more than in 99% of New Jersey towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,946 in 1790, a peak of 128,009 in 1950, 90,871 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1758 and 5 maps from 1947 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Trenton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Trenton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw18 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great Adventure2.2M visitors a year
Big draw22 mi MuseumLynnewood Hall
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw33 mi Park & preservePine Barrens
Big draw28 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a yearUSS New Jersey: Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT, Public domain · Six Flags Great Adventure: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lincoln Financial Field: The original uploader was Betp at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pine Barrens: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Trenton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Trenton.
Trenton draws workers from Hamilton Township and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at 4 times the New Jersey rate.
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D−, Lawrence Township highest at B−.
Its public schools are run by the Trenton Public School District. Two of its 34 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grace A Dunn Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 703 | D− |
| Trenton Central High School - Main CampusLargest public high schoolGrades 10–12 | Grades 10–12 | 2,097 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 8.1 per 1,000 residents, 4 times the New Jersey rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D. Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Ewing Township (C−) to Lawrence Township (B−).
Trenton’s property crime rate is 24.1 per 1,000 residents. Trenton reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 94% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
68,950 jobs are based in Trenton, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 51,574 in 2013 to 68,950.
The median household income in Trenton is $53,000. Jobs based in Trenton grew to 68,950 in 2023, 17,376 more than in 2013. 22% of Trenton residents live below the poverty line.
| Trenton | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 22% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 7.1% | 17% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 6,653 U.S. towns with household incomes like Trenton’s, it is less healthy than 72%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its D, from Ewing Township (B+) to Lawrence Township (A+).
31% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Trenton. Among 468 New Jersey towns, just 9 have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Trenton. 38% of adults feel lonely in Trenton.
| Trenton | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 15% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 22% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 36% | 36% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Trenton | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.2% | 7.5% |
| Fewer adults with high cholesterol | 34.7% | 39.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 19.7% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $4,404, against $9,590 across New Jersey, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Trenton home is worth about $343,000, down 1.8% in a year, 40% below the New Jersey typical home.
| Trenton | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 38% | 77% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 58% | 52% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,294 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
6.5 miles of trail in 38 parks and preserves. Cadwalader Park, at 105 acres with 1.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Trenton | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.7% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cadwalader Park | 1.5 mi | 105 |
| 2. Waterfront Park | 0.7 mi | 5 |
| 3. Juan Martinez Memorial Park | 0.6 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
830 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 189 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 830 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Trenton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Trenton has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 24° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
9 within 15 miles of the center of Trenton
About 4 of every 100 Trenton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Where Trenton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
44 places in Trenton on the National Register of Historic Places.
30 notable people were born in Trenton.
Capital city of New Jersey, United States
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 until December 24, 1784. Trenton and Princeton are the two principal cities of the Trenton–Princeton metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses those cities and all of Mercer County for statistical purposes and constitutes part of the New York combined statistical area by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, Trenton directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area to its west, and the city was part of the Philadelphia combined statistical area from 1990 until 2000. In the 2020 United States census, Trenton was the fifth largest city i…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Trenton.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Ewing Township (C−) is closest. Lawrence Township next door grades higher for schools (B− to Trenton’s D−) and lower for cost of living (D to B−).
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trenton | #450 | D− | B− | D | D− | D |
| Hamilton Township | #346 | C | C− | C | C | A |
| Ewing Township | #397 | C− | C− | C− | C− | B+ |
| Lawrence Township | #228 | B | D | B− | B− | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Trenton grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #450 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades D for health, D for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
The public schools Trenton children attend trail 100% of New Jersey districts on state tests and graduation, a D− School Grade.
That is 3.4 years of the area's median household income ($100,645 across the Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
30 notable people were born here, including Dennis Rodman and Antonin Scalia.
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