Metro area · New Jersey

Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area

Trenton-Princeton, NJ is a metropolitan area of 1 county in New Jersey, home to 399,289 residents. Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area has a quality-of-life score of 77 out of 100 (high), ranking #216 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in New Jersey it ranks #1 of 3. It ranks best on depression (low), access to exercise opportunities (high) and distance to an Amtrak station (low). It ranks worst on effective property tax rate (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and severe housing problems (high).

77High
Quality-of-life score
#216 of 925 metro and micro areas
New Jersey
#1 of 3 in NJ
Population
399,289 (2025)
Land area
224 mi²
Density
1,778.7 /mi²
CBSA code
45940

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety59#383/924
  • Economy77#215/925
  • Housing12#810/925
  • Health94#56/925
  • Healthcare92#79/923
  • Environment19#741/917
  • Education78#203/925
  • Infrastructure81#173/925
  • Community80#184/925
  • Leisure & amenities77#214/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Metro and micro areas like Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Trenton-Princeton, NJ metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Trenton-Princeton, NJ

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Mercer CountyCentral county73399,289

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. PrincetonPrincipal city30,756
  2. TrentonPrincipal city90,338

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Trenton90,338
  2. Princeton30,756
  3. Mercerville13,535
  4. Hamilton Square11,622
  5. White Horse10,507
  6. Twin Rivers8,382
  7. Yardville6,301
  8. Hightstown5,920
  9. Lawrenceville3,924
  10. Robbinsville Center3,777
  11. The College of New Jersey3,658
  12. Groveville3,100
  13. Pennington2,827
  14. Princeton Junction2,025
  15. Hopewell1,823
  16. Washington Crossing536
  17. Titusville501
  18. Windsor325

Other metro and micro areas in New Jersey

Areas based in New Jersey, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

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