Passaic County, New Jersey

Passaic County population, land area and income

Passaic County had 526,597 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 186.1 square miles of land. It ranks 9th of 21 in New Jersey by population and 18th by land area. That works out to 2,829.2 people per square mile, 29.4 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top tenth nationally.

The median county-equivalent in New Jersey has 475,515 residents; Passaic County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $81,823 is in the top quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Passaic County's population changed since 2020

Passaic County gained 3,133 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.6%. That ranks 20th of 21 in New Jersey for growth. The median New Jersey county changed by +2.3%, and the state as a whole by +2.5%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Passaic County recorded 26,822 births and 18,267 deaths, a natural change of +8,555. Net international migration added +24,309 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -31,577. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 31,577 people.

Where Passaic County is

The Census internal point of Passaic County is at 41.036700, -74.299400. It sits in UTM zone 18N. The map shades New Jersey's 21 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Passaic County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Passaic County

13 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Passaic County, 432,412 people together, or 82% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Passaic County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Paterson with 160,463.

Counties bordering Passaic County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 6 neighbors for Passaic County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Bergen County, NJ, with 978,641 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Bergen County

  978,641 people

  13 mi ESE

• Essex County

  881,527 people

  17 mi S

• Morris County

  523,053 people

  18 mi SW

• NY

  Orange County, NY

  411,767 people

  25 mi N

• NY

  Rockland County, NY

  348,144 people

  16 mi ENE

• Sussex County

  147,444 people

  22 mi WNW

Distance to Trenton and the nearest big city

Trenton is 61.2 miles SSW of Passaic County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Paterson, NJ (population 160,463), 11.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Wanaque, NJ (population 11,346), 0.7 miles away.

Passaic County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Passaic County is 34031: state code 34 for New Jersey plus county code 031. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $81,823.