Best PlacesCentral West, Trenton, NJ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central West, Trenton, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Central West, Trenton ranks 5,235th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Central West, Trenton
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Central West, Trenton's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central West, Trenton ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 73% of neighborhoods
- Short commute21.4 minutes each way, better than 71% of neighborhoods
Where Central West, Trenton ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central West, Trenton
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central West, Trenton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $54,957, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Central West, Trenton's effective rate of 2.65%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Central West, Trenton
Central West, Trenton runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Central West, Trenton.
Who works in Central West, Trenton, and how
Work in Central West, Trenton centers on transportation & warehousing and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in Central West, Trenton
The coast is about 42 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Central West, Trenton, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central West, Trenton, month by month
Central West, Trenton sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 24° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Central West, Trenton
The nearest airport, Trenton Mercer, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 35 miles away.
The best schools in and around Central West, Trenton
Schools across Central West, Trenton average an F, better than 1% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Gregory Elementary SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hedgepeth Williams Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Dunn Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
- Clara Parker Elementary SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Trenton Central High School - Main CampusF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central West, Trenton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central West, Trenton measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Central West, Trenton against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central West, Trenton
Is Central West, Trenton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central West, Trenton ranks 5,235th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, big-city access, and walkability, and lowest on property taxes and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Central West, Trenton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $239,433. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $54,957 median income, cost of living beats 20% of neighborhoods.
Is Central West, Trenton safe?
Central West, Trenton is safer than 21% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $457 per resident a year.
Compare Central West, Trenton with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central West, Trenton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central West, Trenton represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Central West, Trenton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central West, Trenton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central West, Trenton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central West, Trenton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central West, Trenton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central West, Trenton detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.