Passaic is a larger medium-sized city located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 68,903 people and 17 associated neighborhoods, Passaic is the 13th largest community in New Jersey. Much of the housing stock in Passaic was built prior to World War II, 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.Because occupations involving physical labor dominate the local economy, Passaic is generally considered to be a blue-collar town. 38.93% of the Passaic workforce is employed in blue-collar occupations, compared to the national average of 27.7%. Overall, Passaic is a city of service providers, production and manufacturing workers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Passaic who work in office and administrative support (8.36%), sales jobs (7.03%), and healthcare suport services (6.45%). A relatively large number of people in Passaic telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 8.18% 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. A lot of people in Passaic take the bus for their daily commute. For the size of the city, the number of people who use public transportation is quite high. For many people in Passaic, this fills their need for low-cost transportation.The percentage of adults in Passaic with college degrees is slightly lower than the national average of 21.84% for all communities. 16.92% of adults in Passaic have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree. The per capita income in Passaic in 2022 was $24,048, which is low income relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $96,192 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 73.04% 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, Russian, and German. Foreign born people are also an important part of Passaic's cultural character, accounting for 42.12% 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.
