Passaic is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 70,722 people and 17 associated neighborhoods, Passaic is the 13th largest community in New Jersey. Passaic has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Housing costs in Passaic are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in New Jersey.

A relatively large number of people in Passaic telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 9.04% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Passaic has a lot of people who ride the bus to and from work. In fact, for its size, Passaic has quite a high level of public transit users. Passaic’s need for inexpensive transportation options for its citizens is quite high.

The citizens of Passaic are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 16.68% of adults in Passaic have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree

The per capita income in Passaic in 2022 was $24,489, which is low income relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $97,956 for a family of four. However, Passaic contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Passaic is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Passaic home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Passaic, accounting for 73.34% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Passaic residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Passaic include Polish, Italian, Eastern European, German, and Irish.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Passaic's cultural character, accounting for 41.39% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Passaic is Spanish. Other important languages spoken here include English and Langs. of India.