Totowa, New Jersey

Area Profile

10,959 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Totowa, in Passaic County.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 22% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 32% of 4,199 cities measured65
Schools2,908th of 4,162 cities measured34
Growth4,007th of 4,224 cities measured19
Housing affordability3,164th of 4,218 cities measured53
Climate2,721st of 4,225 cities measured65
Physical resilience3,021st of 4,226 cities measured36
AccessTop 38% of 4,226 cities measured95
Economic stabilityTop 5% of 4,226 cities measured79
The quick read

Unemployment is 5.3% and median household income $113,563, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Passaic County, NJ, which contains Totowa, rather than for Totowa alone.

In the public schools here, 34% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.4 students for every teacher. Math proficiency is published for Passaic County, NJ, which contains Totowa, rather than for Totowa alone.

No residential units were authorized over the past twelve months, against a nonzero total the year before.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
10,959
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$113,563
Top 12% nationally
Density
2,740/sq mi
4 sq mi of land
Median age
42.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
New Jersey
Nearest major airport
EWR
15 mi · Newark Liberty Intl
Median home value
$559,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Passaic County, NJ, which contains Totowa, is 5.3% — higher than in all but 17% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Passaic County, NJ, which contains Totowa, grew 2.5% over the past year, to 265,819 employed residents.

41% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 82% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $113,563 is higher than in 88% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsPassaic County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$69,45244th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftPassaic County, NJ’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$71,05848th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$14,5072024 ACS 5-Year$113,563Top 12%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4,7172024 ACS 5-Year$46,964Top 21%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year2.1%Top 12%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.3 minBottom 47%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year40.7%Top 18%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year71.2%31st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentPassaic County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026265,819Top 28%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Passaic County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026+1.7%Top 24%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Passaic County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026+2.5%Top 6%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forcePassaic County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026280,76172nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.9%Top 32%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$86,310Top 17%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$61,430Top 19%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year1.9%89th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Passaic County, NJ’s figureJuly 2026−1.6%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment ratePassaic County, NJ’s figureJuly 20265.3%Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year16.0%78th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024114k103k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $113,563 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides644,700$39,680
Retail Salespersons202,080$38,280
Registered Nurses197,740$119,720
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners183,030$42,840
General and Operations Managers177,850$157,000
Cashiers173,830$35,950

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Passaic County, NJ, which contains this city.

34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 47% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Passaic County, NJ, which contains Totowa, rather than for Totowa alone.

There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher across 2 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
3
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.4
across 2 of them
Math proficiency
33.6%
Bottom 24% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
47.1%
Bottom 23% in New Jersey

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Passaic County, NJ: too few schools in Totowa reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly. The schools listed below are this place’s own.

All 3 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Washington Park SchoolTotowa Public School District48512.442%53%
Memorial SchoolTotowa Public School District41314.8——
Passaic Regional SchoolOFFICE OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES0———

31.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against New Jersey’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 112.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division is up 45% over five years, and up 5.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $9,911 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.77% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,660, some 28% above the $2,072 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,660 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $106,400 a year, about 94% of the median household income here of $113,563.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,072 a month.

A median home at $559,300 costs 4.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $124,806, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
112.6

Prices here run about 13% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.4%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,660
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,072
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$559,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Totowa’s median household income of $113,563, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area’s figure2023112.6Bottom 16%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+5.7%84th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+45.1%57th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+81.4%29th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.92024 ACS 5-Year4.5Bottom 12%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±9%2024 ACS 5-Year73.6%45th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2272024 ACS 5-Year3,98086th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,320Bottom 12%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,240Bottom 16%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,660Bottom 13%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$5972024 ACS 5-Year$2,072Bottom 7%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$31,6772024 ACS 5-Year$559,30091st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$6212024 ACS 5-Year$9,91199th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$24,9192024 ACS 5-Year$124,806Top 13%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.15%2024 ACS 5-Year1.77%88th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year31.4%Bottom 34%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±332024 ACS 5-Year2072nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%57th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%18th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±552024 ACS 5-Year6456th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

19/ 100
Ranks 4,007 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 11,064 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 1 units authorized in 2025, against 6 the year before.

61% of the 0 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Passaic County, NJ, which contains Totowa, rather than for Totowa alone.

Federal tax returns show Passaic County, which contains Totowa, lost about 1.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $69,452, close to the $71,058 of households that moved out.

At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
0
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.0
Bottom 1% nationally
Year over year
−100%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
60.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202411k11k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−1.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
40%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$69,452
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$71,058
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Bergen County, NJ 4,509 people · 25% of arrivals
  2. Essex County, NJ 1,939 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Hudson County, NJ 1,493 people · 8.4% of arrivals
  4. Bronx County, NY 1,204 people · 6.7% of arrivals
  5. Morris County, NJ 1,144 people · 6.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Bergen County, NJ 4,930 people · 21% of departures
  2. Essex County, NJ 2,234 people · 9.6% of departures
  3. Morris County, NJ 2,138 people · 9.2% of departures
  4. Hudson County, NJ 897 people · 3.9% of departures
  5. Sussex County, NJ 723 people · 3.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Passaic County, NJ. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251241.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−99%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 38, in the Good band, and about 2 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CALDWELL ESSEX CO AP, 3.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year612024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals44.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year22024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year382024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
38
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
2
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

36 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 75% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Inland floodingElevated
LightningModerate
EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, winter weather, heat wave, cold wave, tornado, ice storm, coastal flooding, wildfire, hail, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
90
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,808
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Totowa's police department reported 90 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,808.

Passaic County records 3.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 4.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.9 per 100,000 residents in Passaic County.

Homicide
3.5
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
4.5
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
16.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
6.2
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Totowa’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Totowa (Passaic County) rather than Totowa itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Newark Liberty Intl at 15 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year95.5%Top 22%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle15 miTop 42%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%Top 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Newark Liberty IntlEWR15 mi9,999 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK29 mi14,511 ft
New York Stewart IntlSWF42 mi11,817 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
51
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Other cities in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
New YorkNew York County8,483,84461New York vs Totowa
NewarkEssex County310,17853Newark vs Totowa
Jersey CityHudson County294,07863Jersey City vs Totowa
YonkersWestchester County209,97861
PatersonPassaic County158,73545
ElizabethUnion County137,30255
Toms RiverOcean County94,95658
CliftonPassaic County89,37958
New RochelleWestchester County82,76968
Mount VernonWestchester County72,42756
BayonneHudson County71,55355
East OrangeEssex County70,09052

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Totowa side by side with a similar place.

Totowa vs WashougalTotowa vs Colonia

Moving to Totowa from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Totowa

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Totowa with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Totowa closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0751210,959$113,563$559,300—