Passaic County, NJ
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 41.04, -74.30.
Assembled 2026-10-07. Read the brief.
- 96th pct · 113th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 55th pct · 10th of 21 New Jersey counties · median $588,036
- 23rd pct · 17th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $688,267
- 68th pct · 962nd of 3,063 US counties · median +2.9%
- 80th pct · 5th of 21 New Jersey counties · median +3.2%
- 47th pct · 12th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median +4.7%
- 90th pct · 133rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 40th pct · 13th of 21 New Jersey counties · median $2,286
- 4th pct · 21st of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $2,832
- 94th pct · 192nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 40th pct · 13th of 21 New Jersey counties · median 188,702
- 23rd pct · 17th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median 283,785
- 85th pct · 470th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 30th pct · 15th of 21 New Jersey counties · median $1,446
- 19th pct · 18th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $1,632
- 95th pct · 144th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.3
- 80th pct · 5th of 21 New Jersey counties · median 6.2
- 61st pct · 9th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median 8.4
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $599,502 (Aug 2026), +4.7% over one year, +34.6% over five
- 96th pct · 113th of 3,063 US counties · median $234,566
- 55th pct · 10th of 21 New Jersey counties · median $588,036
- 23rd pct · 17th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $688,267
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Passaic County, NJ | $599,502 · +4.7% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $2,230/mo (Aug 2026), +1.7% over one year; price-to-rent 22.4
- 90th pct · 133rd of 1,399 US counties · median $1,496
- 40th pct · 13th of 21 New Jersey counties · median $2,286
- 4th pct · 21st of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median $2,832
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Passaic County, NJ | $2,230/mo · +1.7% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $3,281 a month on $599,502 at 7.28%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,659 a month: 58.0% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $599,502 × 80% = $479,602, r = 7.28%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-01), n = 360 → $3,281/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,306 × 52 / 12 = $5,659) = 58% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $599,502 / ($1,306 × 52) = 8.8
- price-to-rent = $599,502 / ($2,230 × 12) = 22.4
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
172,628 jobs at 16,370 employers (2026 Q1); -1.0% jobs and +3.1% average weekly wage over the year
- 94th pct · 192nd of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 40th pct · 13th of 21 New Jersey counties · median 188,702
- 23rd pct · 17th of 22 counties in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro · median 283,785
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Passaic County, NJ | 172,628 jobs · $1,306/wk · -1.0% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 35,121 | $1,173 | 1.35 | +2.7% |
| Retail trade | 22,052 | $868 | 1.31 | -0.5% |
| Manufacturing | 18,170 | $1,664 | 1.31 | -0.6% |
| Accommodation and food services | 11,595 | $584 | 0.75 | +1.0% |
| Administrative and waste services | 11,024 | $931 | 1.12 | -7.7% |
| Wholesale trade | 8,758 | $1,535 | 1.32 | -5.0% |
| Construction | 7,509 | $1,603 | 0.83 | +0.7% |
| Other services | 6,606 | $817 | 1.28 | -2.3% |
| Professional and technical services | 6,426 | $1,988 | 0.54 | -1.7% |
| Educational services | 3,275 | $1,017 | 0.88 | +0.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 3,231 | $3,034 | 0.46 | -4.1% |
| Real estate and rental | 2,004 | $1,432 | 0.76 | -1.1% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.00)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$27.2 bn in deposits at 96 offices of 19 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 3,481, highly concentrated. $2.9 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $2.4 bn, grants $285.7 m), $16,747 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Valley National Bank | $15.6 bn · 57.3% share · 17 offices | |
| TD Bank, National Association | $1.9 bn · 7.1% share · 10 offices | |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1.6 bn · 6.0% share · 8 offices | |
| Passaic, NJ | $2.9 bn FY2026 · $16,747/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $2.2 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley National Bank | $15,583,459,000 | 57.3% | 17 |
| TD Bank, National Association | $1,937,058,000 | 7.1% | 10 |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $1,644,972,000 | 6.0% | 8 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,528,590,000 | 5.6% | 12 |
| Provident Bank | $1,431,280,000 | 5.3% | 9 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $1,415,379,000 | 5.2% | 10 |
| Columbia Bank | $942,272,000 | 3.5% | 9 |
| Bank of America, National Association | $909,920,000 | 3.3% | 4 |
| Kearny Bank | $370,061,000 | 1.4% | 3 |
| Spencer Savings Bank, SLA | $331,081,000 | 1.2% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 3,481 across 19 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls highly concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 19 banks with deposits in the county = 57.3² + 7.1² + 6.0² + … (16 more) = 3,481
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $2,079,474,205 |
| Department of Transportation | $233,624,555 |
| Department of Defense | $221,243,338 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $122,574,942 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $107,794,935 |
| Department of Education | $56,639,658 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $39,844,222 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $11,107,032 |
| Department of Agriculture | $8,143,444 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $5,579,484 |
| National Science Foundation | $1,999,999 |
| Department of Justice | $1,264,934 |
That is $16,747 per covered job, against 172,628 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $2.9 bn / 172,628 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $16,747
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 12.69 | 2026-10-05 | +3.3% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.60 | 2026-10-06 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 3.00 | 2026-10-06 | -50.0% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 96.16 | 2026-09-29 | -3.2% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.28 | 2026-10-01 | +3.6% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 646,347.00 | 2026-08-01 | +1.1% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Passaic County, NJ: 17 findings, 6 at a watch level and 11 noted
watchPassaic County, NJ's years of wages of 8.8 ranks 144th of 3,063 US counties, a watch level here: years of wages in the top tenth of US counties (position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- test: yearsOfWages percentile = 95.32984977139125 >= 90
- typical home value / (average weekly wage × 52); one average covered job, not a household
position among the counties that published both a ZHVI value and a QCEW average weekly wage; not an official level
watchPassaic County, NJ's covered employment is -1.0% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -1 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchPassaic County, NJ's average weekly wage of $1,306 scores 85 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 30 across New Jersey counties, a gap of 55 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 55 = |85 across US counties - 30 across New Jersey counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchPassaic County, NJ's covered employment of 172,628 scores 94 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 40 across New Jersey counties, a gap of 54 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 54 = |94 across US counties - 40 across New Jersey counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
watchPassaic County, NJ's typical asking rent of $2,230 scores 91 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 40 across New Jersey counties, a gap of 51 points.
Period 2026-08.Show the arithmetic
- 51 = |91 across US counties - 40 across New Jersey counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 12 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.