Trenton, NJ

The affordability dashboard for Trenton, NJ aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 12 ZIP codes covering 226,568 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C (56/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $83,446, median home value of $277,766, median rent of $1,519 per month, and 30.8% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,950 per month (studio $1,344, 1BR $1,545, 3BR $2,338, 4BR $2,670). Department of Labor data lists infant center-based childcare at $15,294 per year, consuming 18% of the local median household income.

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Pressure points are childcare. Unemployment currently reads 7.7% and poverty 13.1% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.