Welcome to Paterson ...
The city of Paterson is located in Passaic County<1> and is the County Seat for Passaic County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Paterson, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.
When the people of Paterson refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Patersonian<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Paterson has a population of 145,234 people<3> (see below for details).
Paterson is 100 feet [30 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Paterson lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Telephone area codes for Paterson: (973) & (862)<5>
Websites for Paterson ...
Official Website: www.patcity.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Paterson had an population of 145,234 people. This is a decrease of 0.66% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 2.67% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Paterson had a population of 146,199 people (or 29.17% of the total population of Passaic County). This makes Paterson the county's most populous community.
The population of Paterson represents 1.66% of the total population of New Jersey (which has 8,791,894 people), making it the state's 3rd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 146,199 people, the population of Paterson decreased 2.03% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 149,222 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Paterson.
Communities Also Named Paterson ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 3 communities that are also named Paterson - they are located in British Columbia, Manitoba and Washington.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Paterson.
Communities near Paterson ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Paterson.
- New York
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- New York is located in Kings County (NY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,253,213 people
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New York
- Jump to a Google Map centered on New York
- Bronx
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Bronx is located in Bronx County (NY)
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,385,108 people
- Bronx has also been known as:
- Bronx
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bronx
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Bronx
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bronx <6>
- Newark
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Newark is located in Essex County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 282,520 people
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Newark
- Jersey City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Jersey City is located in Hudson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262,664 people
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jersey City
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Jersey City
- Yonkers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Yonkers is located in Westchester County (NY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 200,040 people
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yonkers
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Yonkers
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yonkers <6>
- Ramapo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ramapo have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Ramapo is located in Rockland County (NY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 138,356 people
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramapo
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Ramapo
- Elizabeth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Elizabeth is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128,382 people
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Elizabeth
- Greenburgh
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenburgh have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Greenburgh is located in Westchester County (NY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90,543 people
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenburgh
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Greenburgh
- Clarkstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkstown have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Clarkstown is located in Rockland County (NY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86,000 people
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkstown
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Clarkstown
- Union City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Union City is located in Hudson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67,137 people
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Jump to a Google Map centered on Union City
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Paterson. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Paterson.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Paterson. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Paterson.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Paterson. Our list includes 73 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Paterson.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Paterson ...
Looking for more information about Paterson? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Paterson, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Paterson.
Adding Paterson to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Paterson in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Paterson was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
We also found Paterson on a map titled George#&160;F. Cram Map (1905).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Paterson.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Paterson: www.patcity.com/
The official website for Passaic County: www.passaiccountynj.org/
The official website for State of New Jersey: https://www.state.nj.us/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of New Jersey's counties, including Passaic, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Paterson refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Paterson may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Paterson. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Paterson - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Area code (862) is an overlay for area code (973). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |