Living here
Cost of living in Princeton
Housing is much more expensive than the US average. Rents, home prices, taxes and how far a paycheck goes.
Median rent
$2,448/mo
82% above US
Median home value
$1,040,400
243% above US
Median household income
$184,113
134% above US
Rent as share of income
16%
US 21%
Home price to income
5.7×
US 3.9×
Sales tax
6.625%
Rent by number of bedrooms
HUD 2027 fair market rents for Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA (gross rent including utilities, near the 40th percentile of local rents). Source: HUD USER.
How Princeton compares
- Princeton$2,448
- New Jersey$1,653
- United States$1,348
- Edison$1,885
- Newark$1,330
- Jersey City$1,902
- Atlantic City$1,084
- Princeton$1,040,400
- New Jersey$427,600
- United States$303,400
- Edison$481,700
- Newark$337,800
- Jersey City$534,500
- Atlantic City$189,600
Taxes
Compare with nearby cities
Life in Princeton
Questions
Is Princeton expensive to live in?
Housing in Princeton is much more expensive than the national average: median rent is $2,448 (82% above US) and the median home value is $1,040,400 (243% above US).
How much is rent in Princeton?
The median gross rent is $2,448 a month. HUD’s 2027 fair market rents for the area are studio $1,561, 1 bedroom $1,764, 2 bedrooms $2,242, 3 bedrooms $2,741, 4 bedrooms $3,081.
How much of their income do renters spend in Princeton?
At the median, a year’s rent ($29,376) equals about 16% of the median household income ($184,113); nationally it’s about 21%.
What are taxes like in Princeton?
Sales tax is 6.625% and property taxes run about 0.96% of home value a year.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates; HUD fair market rents; NJ Division of Taxation, Sales and Use Tax page (last updated 11/04/2026): 6.625% statewide rate.