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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

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Home > Community Development > Community Profiles > Trenton-Ewing, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) > Demographics and Economic Data

Community Profile: Trenton-Ewing, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

Demographics and Economic Data

Included in this section is a brief summary of demographic and economic data. Detailed data can be accessed through the following websites:

• Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council : The website includes a geocoding/mapping system that allows users to obtain census data based on specific street addresses and a census report system that provides census information by census tract within a county or MSA.
• PolicyMap : This geographic information system, which includes an interactive mapping tool developed by The Reinvestment Fund, allows users to create custom maps, tables, and charts for over 10,000 indicators and provides the ability to plot external data.
• U.S. Census Bureau American FactFinder : Official source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Included below is a summary of the following data:

• Population
• Income
• Poverty Level
• Housing Units
• Housing Permits
• Local Industries
• Unemployment Rate
• Education

Population1

The population of the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA rose from 325,824 in 1990 to 350,761 in 2000, representing a 7.7 percent increase. During the same period, the state of New Jersey experienced an 8.9 percent population increase, while the city of Trenton lost 3.9 percent of its population.

Table 1 shows the racial composition of the state of New Jersey, Trenton-Ewing MSA, and city of Trenton based on the 2000 census. The last line of the table represents the percentage of the total population who stated they were Hispanic or Latino in origin.

The racial composition of the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA is illustrated in Figure 1.

The racial composition of those who reported they were Hispanic or Latino in origin within the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA (9.7 percent of the total population for the MSA) is illustrated in Figure 2.

Income1

The 1999 household median income for the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA was $56,613, and the family median income was $68,494. Statewide, the household median income was $55,146, and the family median income was $65,370. In the same year, the household median income for the city of Trenton was $31,074, and the family median income was $36,681.1

The term low- and moderate-income persons (LMI) is used for CRA and community development purposes and includes people and communities whose income is less than 80 percent of the area median income. People and communities whose income is less than 50 percent of the area median income are considered low income and those whose income exceeds 50 percent, but does not exceed 80 percent, are considered moderate income.

In 2000, there were 125,787 households within the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA. Of all households in all census tracts, 23.8 percent were households with low incomes and 16.3 percent were households with moderate incomes. The income of a household is not necessarily an indicator of the income of the census tract in which it resides. As Table 2 indicates, 51.1 percent of all households with low incomes resided in middle- and upper-income census tracts and 65.7 percent of all households with moderate incomes resided in middle- and upper-income census tracts. 2

In 2006, there were 73 census tracts in the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA. Of the total, 13 were low-income tracts and 12 were moderate-income tracts. In the city of Trenton, there were 24 census tracts. Of the total, 13 were low-income tracts and eight were moderate-income tracts.2

Poverty Level1

In 1999, the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA had 28,570 residents living below the poverty line, representing 8.6 percent of the MSA population. Statewide, 8.5 percent of the population was living below the poverty line. The city of Trenton had 17,222 residents (21.1 percent of the total population) living below the poverty line.

Information about how the U.S. Census Bureau measures poverty is available through its website. 

Housing Units1

In 2000, the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA had a total of 133,280 housing units, of which 94.4 percent were occupied and 5.6 percent were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, 67.0 percent were occupied by the owner, and 33.0 percent were occupied by a renter. The state of New Jersey had a total of 3,310,275 housing units, of which 92.6 percent were occupied and 7.4 percent were vacant. The city of Trenton had a total of 33,908 housing units, of which 86.9 percent were occupied and 13.1 percent were vacant.

The reasons for vacancies are illustrated in Figure 3.

Housing Permits3

In January 2000, 102 housing permits for new, privately owned houses in the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA were issued. Of this group, 88.5 housing permits were for 1- to 4-unit homes. These numbers have been seasonally adjusted.

More current information regarding housing permits in the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA and other areas within the Third Federal Reserve District is available through a database on the Regional Employment, Unemployment, and Selected Statistics page of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Research Department.

Local Industries3

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Research Department maintains a database of monthly employment data by industry for the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA (Excel spreadsheet). Please note that all values for industry employment in this file are in thousands.

Unemployment Rate4

In 2005, the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA had an annual unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, compared with a rate of 4.4 percent for the state of New Jersey. The city of Trenton had an annual unemployment rate of 9.3 percent for the same year. More recent unemployment data are available through the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. 

Education1

Overall, the Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA population is well educated: 34 percent of the population that is 25 years of age or older has a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the city of Trenton, however, only 9.2 percent of the population that is 25 years of age or older has received a bachelor’s degree or higher. For the state of New Jersey, this figure is 29.8 percent. See Figure 4 for more details.

• 1 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “2000 Census – Summary File 3,” http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en 
• 2 Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), http://www.ffiec.gov. 
• 3 Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Research Department, “Regional Employment, Unemployment, and Selected Statistics,” http://www.philadelphiafed.org/research-and-data/regional-economy/ 
• 4 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Local Area Unemployment Statistics,” 2005 annual data, http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=la 

• Last updated: Thursday, February 22, 2007