Although the majority of commuting trips in the city are by private automobile, Passaic is somewhat unusual for a city of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the bus helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Passaic area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.
The citizens of Passaic are slightly less educated than the national average of 21.84% for the average city or town: 16.07% of adults in Passaic have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree
The per capita income in Passaic in 2022 was $23,832, which is low income relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $95,328 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 74.07% 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 Israeli.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Passaic's cultural character, accounting for 42.24% 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.
