Public · University

Thomas Edison State University

Trenton, New Jersey · Small city

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Admit rate
—
Avg net price
—
Graduation rate
$69,331
Median earnings

Thomas Edison State University is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Trenton, New Jersey (small city setting), enrolling 6,707 undergraduates.

PublicMidsize · 6,707 undergradsSmall cityCold wintersNear the coast

About Trenton, New Jersey

Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. The first European settlement in what would become Trenton was established by Quakers in 1679, in the region then called the Falls of the Delaware, led by Mahlon Stacy from Handsworth, Sheffield, England. Trenton was a major manufacturing center in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One relic of that era is the slogan "Trenton Makes, The World Takes", which is displayed on the Lower Free Bridge (just north of the Trenton–Morrisville Toll Bridge). (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To the ocean
20 miles
Nearest airport
5 miles to Trenton Mercer (TTN)

How Thomas Edison State University compares

View 46 more ranking appearances
#9 · Colleges with the Highest Share of Adult Students #10 · Colleges with the Highest Former-Student Earnings in New Jersey #2 · Colleges with the Lowest Student Debt in New Jersey #15 · Colleges with the Lowest Student Debt in the Northeast #18 · Best Public Universities in the Northeast #17 · Colleges with the Lowest Student Debt on the East Coast #32 · Best Public Universities on the East Coast #62 · Best Colleges in the Mid-Atlantic #13 · Colleges with the Lowest Student Debt in the Mid-Atlantic #12 · Best Public Universities in the Mid-Atlantic #17 · Colleges with the Highest Former-Student Earnings Near Philadelphia, PA #16 · Colleges with the Highest Former-Student Earnings Near Allentown, PA #26 · Bachelor's Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #63 · Bachelor's Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities Programs with the Lowest Student Debt #40 · Bachelor's Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities Programs with the Lowest Debt Relative to Earnings #6 · Associate Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #11 · Associate Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities Programs with the Highest Five-Year Earnings #30 · Bachelor's Business Administration, Management and Operations Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #15 · Bachelor's Business Administration, Management and Operations Programs with the Lowest Student Debt #10 · Bachelor's Business Administration, Management and Operations Programs with the Lowest Debt Relative to Earnings #27 · Associate Business Administration, Management and Operations Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #68 · Bachelor's Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #86 · Bachelor's Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing Programs with the Lowest Debt Relative to Earnings #31 · Associate Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services Programs with the Highest Five-Year Earnings #35 · Bachelor's Finance and Financial Management Services Programs with the Lowest Student Debt #2 · Bachelor's Biological and Physical Sciences Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #6 · Bachelor's Biological and Physical Sciences Programs with the Highest Five-Year Earnings #6 · Bachelor's Biological and Physical Sciences Programs with the Lowest Student Debt #4 · Bachelor's Biological and Physical Sciences Programs with the Lowest Debt Relative to Earnings #40 · Associate Biological and Physical Sciences Programs with the Lowest Student Debt #2 · Bachelor's Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #5 · Bachelor's Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other Programs with the Highest Five-Year Earnings #2 · Bachelor's Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other Programs with the Lowest Student Debt #3 · Bachelor's Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other Programs with the Lowest Debt Relative to Earnings #2 · Associate Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #1 · Associate Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other Programs with the Highest Five-Year Earnings #11 · Associate Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other Programs with the Lowest Student Debt #1 · Associate Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other Programs with the Lowest Debt Relative to Earnings #14 · Bachelor's Social Sciences, General Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #11 · Bachelor's Social Sciences, General Programs with the Highest Five-Year Earnings #19 · Bachelor's Social Sciences, General Programs with the Lowest Student Debt #10 · Bachelor's Social Sciences, General Programs with the Lowest Debt Relative to Earnings #58 · Bachelor's Human Resources Management and Services Programs with the Highest First-Year Earnings #10 · Bachelor's Human Resources Management and Services Programs with the Highest Five-Year Earnings #68 · Bachelor's Human Resources Management and Services Programs with the Lowest Student Debt #26 · Bachelor's Human Resources Management and Services Programs with the Lowest Debt Relative to Earnings
Earnings, 10 years after entry$69,331

Higher than 82% · #11 of 38 in New Jersey

Median debt at graduation$12,500

Lower than 95%

Student–faculty ratio20 : 1

Lower than 10%

Undergraduate enrollment6,707

Larger than 83%

Percentiles compare Thomas Edison State University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in New Jersey.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

7,476students
  • Undergraduate6,70790%
  • Graduate76910%

Undergraduates by gender

6,707undergrads
  • Women3,37350%
  • Men3,33450%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White43%
  • Black16%
  • Hispanic17%
  • Asian4.2%
  • Other or multiracial21%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
6,707
Graduate enrollment
769
Student–faculty ratio
20 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
24%
First-generation students
44%
Students over 25
88%
Median family income
$34,693
Endowment
$12,775,967

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition
$6,838
Out-of-state tuition
$8,856
Room & board
—
Books & supplies
$1,700
Total cost of attendance
—
Average net price
—

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
—
First-year retention
—
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$65,570
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$69,331
Median debt at graduation
$12,500
Students with federal loans
24%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
47%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

Low-income (Pell)
32%
First-generation
32%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
$50

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
3

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (7,544 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.0reported offenses a year
0 violent a year1.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
1.0

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$69,331
Typical debt at graduation
$12,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
18%
Out-earn a HS grad
73%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$60,063
Men
$80,976

Men out-earn women by $20,913 (35%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
86°F
Winter low
23°F
Annual rain
47.4″
Annual snow
26.6″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Trenton State College, NJ US station (3.7 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Thomas Edison State University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Thomas Edison State University side by side →

Colleges near Thomas Edison State University

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.