Trenton, New Jersey Cost Of Living

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Overall 5%

Goods & Services 8%

Housing 32%

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Trenton	New Jersey	National
Cost of living	95	121	100
Goods & Services	108	105	100
Groceries	109	107	100
Health care	99	96	100
Housing	68	158	100
Transportation	106	105	100
Utilities	105	105	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Trenton is 21% lower than the New Jersey average
The cost of living in Trenton is 5% lower than the national average
Trenton housing is 32% lower than the national average
New Jersey general sales tax is 30% higher than the national average
New Jersey state income tax is 43% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$59,023	$4,919	$1,377	$1,771
Renters	$24,147	$2,012	$563	$724

The percentage of monthly income spent on housing related expenses can help predict the affordability of housing in Trenton, NJ, as well as what the overall cost of living might be. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payments and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In Trenton, homeowners have a median income of $59,023. Using that number, a maximum of $1,377 per month should be allocated to housing expenses. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $24,147, which means there is a maximum of $563 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

New Jersey Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
New Jersey	6.625%	12.625%

New Jersey Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
New Jersey	1.4%	10.75%

Goods & Services

Item	Trenton	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.73	$20.27	2.3%
Beauty Salon	$34.67	$40.39	14.2%
Toothpaste	$2.31	$2.36	2.1%
Shampoo	$1.42	$1.08	31.6%
Movie	$12.60	$10.99	14.7%
Bowling	$19.27	$15.49	24.4%

Groceries

Item	Trenton	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.03	$4.30	6.1%
Fried Chicken	$1.97	$1.40	40.8%
Milk	$2.56	$2.20	16.4%
Potatoes	$3.26	$3.22	1.2%
Pizza	$11.26	$10.74	4.8%
Beer	$8.99	$9.60	6.3%

Health Care

Item	Trenton	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$110.20	$109.73	0.4%
Doctor	$93.00	$118.34	21.4%
Dentist	$104.80	$100.94	3.8%
Ibuprofen	$9.46	$9.93	4.7%
Lipitor	$544.23	$469.53	15.9%

Housing

Item	Trenton	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$100,000.00	$184,700.00	45.9%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,638.05	$1,229.62	33.2%
Apartment Rent	$964.00	$949.00	1.6%

Transportation

Item	Trenton	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.83	$2.71	4.5%
Tire Balancing	$56.99	$51.86	9.9%

Utilities

Item	Trenton	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$189.83	$170.84	11.1%
Phone	$183.25	$187.18	2.1%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Newtown CDP, PA	250	92	8.1%
Morrisville CDP, PA	862	98	2.2%
Beverly, NJ	2,538	103	2.8%
Burlington, NJ	9,850	103	3.2%
Roebling, NJ	3,652	104	3.6%
Trenton, NJ	84,559	95	4.6%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Riverview, FL	84,590	99	1.4%
Bellingham, WA	84,462	124	23.7%
Champaign, IL	84,672	91	8.8%
Bend, OR	84,416	122	21.7%
Edinburg, TX	84,399	78	21.8%
Trenton, NJ	84,559	95	4.6%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.