Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 20/100
F
Median home value$360,100
New York $614,200
Median rent$1,548/mo
New York $1,830/mo
Cost-burdened households57%
New York 42%
Paterson
Passaic County158,735 residentsPaterson Public School District
43
D
Suburbgrade score
56th of 60 New York suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by employment & income.
43
New York median 52
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Paterson yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 43 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 Paterson is like to live in, by category
Bars show Paterson against New York. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 36/100
F
Within-state proficiency8th pct
New York median 35th pct
Student–teacher ratio12.7
New York median 11.6
Graduation rate79%
New York median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 51/100
D+
Housing cost index83
New York 100
Eff. tax rate2.28%
New York 1.37%
Local sales tax6.60%
New York median 8.54%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 60/100
C
Mean commute22.6 min
New York 35.6 min
Under 30 minutes74%
New York 44%
Transit stops / sq mi0.2
New York median 2.5 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 88/100
A
Restaurants & cafés146
New York median 59 · within 2 miles
Groceries23
New York median 8 · within 2 miles
Parks60
New York median 61 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 17/100
F
Median household income$55,997
New York $99,155
Unemployment11%
New York 6.8%
Professional occupations19%
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 Paterson 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 Paterson on employment & income
Paterson's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbEmploymentOverall
Hoboken14 mi from PatersonA− 69 B− Westfield20 mi from PatersonA− 70 B− Harrison24 mi from PatersonC+ 59 C Fair Lawn3 mi from PatersonC 65 C+ Bergenfield9 mi from PatersonC− 57 C− Jersey City15 mi from PatersonC− 53 C− Median household income: ACS 2020–24 · Unemployment: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Paterson
Is Paterson, NJ a good place to live?
Paterson scores 43 out of 100, 56th 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 Paterson expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades D+. The median home is $360,100, 41% below the New York median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.28%. $1,548/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Paterson?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Paterson sit at the 8th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 79% graduation rate and a 12.7 student–teacher ratio. Paterson is served by Paterson Public School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Paterson?
The mean commute is 22.6 min, with 74% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 5.2% working from home. Transit density is 0.2 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Paterson?
Within two miles there are 23 groceries, 146 restaurants and cafés and 60 parks, which grades A on amenities.
Are the homes in Paterson old or new?
The median home in Paterson was built in 1954 — 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. 20% 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.