Nicknames for Trenton include the “Capital City” and “Turning Point of the Revolution”, the latter commemorating a strategic victory that helped America eventually gain its independence from the British.
Covering 109.5 acres (44.3 hectares), Trenton’s biggest city park is Cadwalader Park. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same landscape architect who also designed New York City’s Central Park.
According to an article in USA Today, Trenton is among the 30 worst U.S, cities in which to live. Not only do a quarter of Trenton’s residents live in poverty, cost of living in Trenton is almost 20% more expensive than America’s national average. Trenton’s also has a high crime rate with about 1,341 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents–5 times greater than for New Jersey state.
New Jersey’s capital city Trenton was recognized by the Guinness World Records for a homeless shelter named The Rescue Mission of Trenton where over 77,000 pounds (34,927 kilograms) of clothing was donated. Trenton became the site of the largest assemblage of clothes ever collected for the needy or recycling.
Trenton’s Arm & Hammer baseball park was the site for another Guinness World Record. On August 14, 2018, 881 participants blew a chewing bubble–the most people ever to do so simultaneously.
The largest private employers in Trenton, New Jersey include health care players Capital Health Systems, St. Francis Medical Center and Water’s Edge Convalescent Center; direct mail services provider Hibbert Group; and manufacturers Hutchinson Industries and Marshall Industrial Technologies.
From an international trade perspective, New Jersey shipped U$36 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include palladium (3.7% of New Jersey’s global total), refined petroleum oils (3.2%), motor cars (2.7%), precious-metal scrap (also 2.7%), mobile phones (2.6%), beauty or make-up preparations (2.4%), medical, dental or veterinarian instruments and appliances (2.1%), civilian aircraft including engines and other parts (2%), computers (1.9%), and rhodium (1.8%) according to United States Census Bureau data.
The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Trenton was 12% in June 2020, up from 3% one year earlier.
Capital Facts for Trenton, United States: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: Arm & Hammer Park, Artworks Trenton, New Jersey State Museum, Old Barracks Museum, The Trenton Museum at Ellarslie and the William Trent Museum House
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Trenton, United States.
- Dennis Rodman, NBA basketball most valuable player 1990-1 (born May 13, 1961)
- Judith Light, Tony Award-winning actress (born Feb. 9, 1949)
- Sue Pitt, Olympic swimming gold medalist (born Jun. 18, 1948)
- Sommore, Comic of the Year Richard Pryor Award-winner (born May 16, 1966)
- Mark Osborne, Academy Award-nominated writer, director & producer (born Sep. 17, 1970)
- Carman, platinum-selling Christian musician (born Jan. 19, 1956)
- Terrance Cauthen, Olympic boxing bronze medalist (born May 14, 1976)
- Jake Weary, actor (born Feb. 14, 1990)
- Johnny Costa, singer-songwriter & ukulele player (born Jul. 18, 1993)
- Zach Woods, actor & writer (born Sep. 25, 1984)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches of published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for a Trenton resident: Trentonian
Population: 84,386 (Trenton) at August 18, 2020
Density: 11,133 people per square mile (4,299 per square kilometer)
Population: 8,936,570 (New Jersey) at August 18, 2020
Density: 1,215 people per square mile (469 per square kilometer)
Financial
Real GDP: US$28.459 billion for 2018 (Trenton)
GDP per person: $68,741 in 2017
Note: The above GDP metrics are on a current basis and are in 2012 Chained U.S. dollars*.
*2009 Chained U.S. dollars for GDP per person
Official currency used in Trenton: U.S. dollars
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Dilemma X, U.S. Census Bureau metropolitan population estimates July 1, 2016.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Real Total Gross Domestic Product for South Dakota.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Unemployment Rate in South Dakota).
Forbes Global 2000, The World’s Biggest Public Companies.
Guinness World Records, Recycling records set in US and Hong Kong….
Guinness World Records, Yankees legend leads chewing gum record at baseball all-stars game.
Nations Online, Capital Cities of the USA.
Official Government Website, City of Trenton official website.
Trenton250.org, Largest Private Employers.
United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade: State by 6-Digit HS Code and Top Countries.
United States Census Bureau, State Population Totals Tables: 2010-2016.
United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: Seasonally Adjusted Metropolitan Area Estimates.
USA Today, These are the worst cities to live in based on quality of life.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gross Domestic Product by Metropolitan Area, 2015 (Tables Only).
Wikimedia Commons, Trenton city flag.
Wikipedia, List of Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
Wikipedia, New Jersey.
Wikipedia, Mercer County, New Jersey.
Wikipedia, Trenton, New Jersey.
World Population Review, Trenton Population.
Trentonians celebrate Independence Day as a national holiday each July 4.
Trenton’s land area occupies 7.58 square miles (19.63 square kilometers). The state capital’s population was 84,386 Trentonians at August 18, 2020.
At the state level, New Jersey’s land area measures 7,354.22 square miles (19,047.34 square kilometers). New Jersey’s population count was 8.9 million in August 2020.
Trenton’s population density averages 11,133 residents per square mile (4,299 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to New Jersey’s land boundaries, population density dilutes to an average 1,215 inhabitants per square mile (469 per square kilometer).
