Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 22/100
F
Median home value$429,900
New York $614,200
Median rent$1,465/mo
New York $1,830/mo
Cost-burdened households55%
New York 42%
Passaic
Passaic County70,002 residentsPassaic City School District
44
D
Suburbgrade score
51st of 60 New York suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by employment & income.
44
New York median 52
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Passaic yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 44 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Passaic is like to live in, by category
Bars show Passaic against New York. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 35/100
F
Within-state proficiency10th pct
New York median 35th pct
Student–teacher ratio12.2
New York median 11.6
Graduation rate68%
New York median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 61/100
C
Housing cost index82
New York 100
Eff. tax rate2.13%
New York 1.37%
Local sales tax6.60%
New York median 8.54%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 57/100
C−
Mean commute25.3 min
New York 35.6 min
Under 30 minutes67%
New York 44%
Transit stops / sq mi3.3
New York median 2.5 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 82/100
B+
Restaurants & cafés80
New York median 59 · within 2 miles
Groceries15
New York median 8 · within 2 miles
Parks83
New York median 61 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 20/100
F
Median household income$55,371
New York $99,155
Unemployment13%
New York 6.8%
Professional occupations24%
New York 48%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Passaic yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Passaic on employment & income
Passaic's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbEmploymentOverall
Hoboken9 mi from PassaicA− 69 B− Westfield18 mi from PassaicA− 70 B− Harrison24 mi from PassaicC+ 59 C Fair Lawn5 mi from PassaicC 65 C+ Bergenfield8 mi from PassaicC− 57 C− Jersey City11 mi from PassaicC− 53 C− Median household income: ACS 2020–24 · Unemployment: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Passaic
Is Passaic, NJ a good place to live?
Passaic scores 44 out of 100, 51st of 60 New York suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on employment & income. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Passaic expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C. The median home is $429,900, 30% below the New York median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.13%. $1,465/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Passaic?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Passaic sit at the 10th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 68% graduation rate and a 12.2 student–teacher ratio. Passaic is served by Passaic City School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Passaic?
The mean commute is 25.3 min, with 67% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 9.0% working from home. Transit density is 3.3 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Passaic?
Within two miles there are 15 groceries, 80 restaurants and cafés and 83 parks, which grades B+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Passaic old or new?
The median home in Passaic was built in 1939 or earlier — older than the New York median of 1960. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 19% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.