Living in Princeton, NJ

Mercer County

Princeton is genuinely one of the most nationally recognized university towns in the country, anchored by Princeton University -- an Ivy League institution whose acceptance rate has tightened from 5.7% (Class of 2026) to roughly 3.5% (Class of 2030) against more than 40,000 annual applications, and which holds the nation's fifth-largest university endowment ($35.7 billion as of June 2025). Princeton also hosts the Institute for Advanced Study, a real, independent research institution genuinely separate from the university itself (past resident scholars include Albert Einstein), and is real corporate headquarters to Bristol Myers Squibb, one of the named anchors of New Jersey's own pharmaceutical-corridor identity. This concentration of high-wage academic, research, and pharmaceutical employment drives Princeton's genuinely high median household income (approximately $120,000) -- but it comes with a real, substantial cost of entry: Zillow's own average home value in the 08540 ZIP ran approximately $974,452 (up 5.7% year-over-year), with a separately-cited median sale price near $1,389,000, among the highest housing costs of any market in this project's New Jersey buildout. Princeton's own effective property-tax rate (2.51% per Ownwell) runs genuinely ABOVE even New Jersey's own nation-leading statewide average (1.88%-2.23%) -- this record does not let Princeton's affluence imply a below-average rate -- even as that same 2.51% figure is, per the same source, the LOWEST rate among Mercer County's own municipalities; Princeton's high absolute tax bills stem substantially from its own high property values rather than an outlier county rate. Princeton's compact, walkable downtown (Nassau Street and Palmer Square, directly adjacent to the university's historic campus) is a real, distinct amenity genuinely different from the car-dependent character of much of the rest of Central Jersey, and the town's crime profile runs genuinely favorable (NeighborhoodScout's roughly 1-in-70 property-crime-victimization odds). Princeton carries a real, disclosed base of long-tenured and university-affiliated retirees drawn to its cultural access and Penn Medicine Princeton Health's regional healthcare presence.

Explore Princeton in depth

• Moving to Princeton: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Princeton
• Housing Market in Princeton
• Buying a Home in Princeton
• Renting in Princeton
• Taxes in Princeton
• Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Princeton
• Climate & Weather in Princeton
• Jobs & Economy in Princeton
• Schools in Princeton
• Crime & Safety in Princeton
• Healthcare in Princeton
• Traffic & Transportation in Princeton
• Best Areas to Live in Princeton
• Pros and Cons of Living in Princeton
• Retiring in Princeton
• Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Princeton

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits luxury and move-up buyers specifically drawn to Princeton's genuinely unmatched university-town identity and prestige, who have budgeted realistically for both the town's real, elevated housing costs and its above-statewide-average property-tax rate; families prioritizing Princeton Public Schools' strong reputation; and retirees drawn to the town's cultural and healthcare access who are similarly prepared for its genuinely high cost of living.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for budget-conscious or first-time buyers, given Princeton's genuinely elevated housing costs among the highest documented anywhere in this project's New Jersey buildout; nor for anyone assuming an affluent town automatically carries a below-average property-tax rate, given Princeton's own rate running above even New Jersey's already nation-leading statewide average.