Paterson is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, home to about 158,735 people across 8.4 square miles. Its ZIP codes are 07501, 07502, 07503, 07504, 07505, 07513, 07514, 07522 and 07524.
Homes sold for a median of $306 per square foot across 9 ZIP codes in the three months ending August 2026, and 4 of 9 were seller’s markets.
All in Paterson
All in Paterson
All in Paterson
All in Paterson
All in Paterson
All in Paterson
All in Paterson
Each card is that ZIP code’s whole market, including any part outside Paterson. Seller’s market: under 4 months of supply; buyer’s market: over 6. Methodology
The land around the Great Falls of the Passaic River was Lenape homeland for thousands of years before European colonization. Paterson itself began as a deliberate experiment: the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.) was organized in 1791 under a plan championed by Alexander Hamilton, and in 1792 it laid out a manufacturing town at the 77-foot falls to harness their water power. The National Park Service calls it the country's first planned industrial city. Paterson became an incorporated city in 1851.
Over the 1800s and early 1900s, mills along the raceways turned out cotton cloth, textile machinery, firearms, railroad locomotives and, most famously, silk. The Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works was among the major plants, and its former erecting shop on Market Street still stands. During World War II the city's factories were busy with military production, and Paterson has since been named New Jersey's American World War II Heritage City.
The falls and the surrounding mill district are now Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park. Nearby, Hinchliffe Stadium opened in 1932, became a National Historic Landmark in 2013 and reopened in May 2023 after a long restoration. Lambert Castle, built in 1892 on the slope of Garret Mountain, is another landmark of the industrial era.
Paterson is a dense, older city of brick mill buildings, corner stores and long blocks of houses, set along the Passaic River with Garret Mountain rising on its southwest edge. Downtown, around Market Street and Broadway, is the commercial and civic center and the hub for buses and the train station.
Much of the housing is two- and three-story frame houses on small lots, many with front porches, gables and dormers. Many houses originally built for one household are now used as two- or three-family homes, and apartment buildings are mixed in. Some former mill buildings near the falls and raceways are zoned for adaptive reuse as lofts and live-work space.
The city is divided into six wards, and residents commonly use neighborhood names such as Downtown, Northside, Totowa, Hillcrest, Stoney Road, Eastside, the Manor, Riverside, Wrigley Park, Sandy Hill, People's Park, South Paterson and Lakeview. Larger parks anchor several of them, including Eastside Park, Westside Park and Pennington Park, along with many small neighborhood parks. Public schools are operated by Paterson Public Schools.
NJ Transit trains stop at Paterson station, at Market and Ward Streets downtown, on the Main Line, which runs south through Clifton to Secaucus Junction and Hoboken Terminal. Riders headed to Midtown Manhattan change at Secaucus Junction for New York Penn Station, while Hoboken connects to PATH trains and ferries. As an example from the fall 2026 Port Jervis Line timetable, one weekend morning train took about 23 minutes to Secaucus Junction and 35 minutes to Hoboken. Port Jervis Line trains, run with Metro-North, also stop here. The station has a municipal parking lot with about 700 spaces, run with the Paterson Parking Authority, and bike racks.
The Broadway Bus Terminal downtown is the starting point for many NJ Transit bus routes, and buses also run along Broadway, Madison Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard through the neighborhoods.
By car, Interstate 80 crosses the city, State Routes 4, 19 and 20 serve it (Route 20 runs along the Passaic River on the Riverside side), and the Garden State Parkway passes nearby.
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park is the city's signature attraction, with overlooks of the 77-foot falls, a path near the brink, trails along the upper raceway, ranger tours and a self-guided walking tour available through the NPS app. Mary Ellen Kramer Park, beside the falls, has an observation deck, and Hinchliffe Stadium next door hosts New Jersey Jackals minor league baseball, school football, concerts and events.
The Paterson Museum, at 2 Market Street in the former Rogers locomotive erecting shop, covers the city's industrial history and displays early submarines built by inventor John Philip Holland. Lambert Castle, at 3 Valley Road, houses the Passaic County Historical Society museum (its interior was closed for renovations as of 2026). The Danforth Memorial Library on Broadway is the city's main public library.
For outdoor space, Garret Mountain Reservation, a 300-plus-acre county park shared with Woodland Park and designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, has Barbour Pond, trails, an equestrian center and an overlook with views to the New York City skyline. Eastside Park has ball fields, a playground and a gazebo, and Westside Park on Totowa Avenue has river access, sports fields and the historic Van Houten House.
Researched and drafted from the public sources below. Updated October 2026. Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us.
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Get matched| Nearest major airport | Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)16 miles away |
|---|---|
| Closer regional airport | Teterboro Airport (TEB)7 miles away |
| Nearest city of 250,000+ | Newark, NJ13 miles away |
| Nearest city of 1 million+ | New York, NY21 miles away |
Straight-line distances from the center of Paterson; driving is longer.
Source: Airports from OurAirports (scheduled passenger service); city centers and populations from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Source: Members of Congress from the congress-legislators project; districts from the Census Bureau’s relationship files; governor and mayor from Wikidata.
Paterson had 159,732 residents in the 2020 census, up 7% since 2000.
It’s the 3rd largest of 565 towns in New Jersey by population.
Passaic County grew from 155,202 residents in 1900 to 524,118 in 2020.
Passaic County, 1900–2020
Source: U.S. Census Bureau decennial censuses (counties 1900–1990 from the Bureau’s historical county file).
Average highs peak around 85°F in summer, and winter lows average 23°F. About 44.9 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a typical year.
Source: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Caldwell Essex Co Ap, NJ weather station (7 miles away).
146,956 jobs at 12,406 businesses in Passaic County. The biggest industries by employees:
Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 (private employers; jobs counted where people work).
882 doctors and other health care providers list an office in Paterson’s ZIP codes.
Nearest hospitals
Providers with an office here
| Primary care doctors | 129 |
|---|---|
| Specialist doctors | 329 |
| Dentists | 67 |
| Nurse practitioners and physician assistants | 176 |
| Mental health providers | 113 |
| Physical and occupational therapists | 36 |
| Optometrists | 5 |
| Chiropractors | 27 |
| Pharmacies | 85 |
Source: Hospitals from CMS Hospital General Information (ratings are CMS overall star ratings); straight-line distances; providers from the CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), by practice address and primary specialty.
Parks (31 nearby)
Grocery stores (20 nearby)
Pharmacies (10 nearby)
Libraries (5 nearby)
Museums (2 nearby)
Theaters and performance venues (1 nearby)
Counts are within about 2 miles of the center of town.
Source: Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (openstreetmap.org/copyright), as mapped by volunteers; it can miss places or include closed ones.
Established in 1792.
Notable people born here
Source: Wikidata (wikidata.org), the free knowledge base; people are listed by place of birth.
Public schools here are run by Paterson Public School District, Brilla New Jersey Charter School, College Achieve Paterson Charter School and others. Check each district’s attendance zones for a specific address.
| School | Grades | Students | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna Iandoli Early Learning CenterPaterson | Pre-K | 99 | Public | 0.8 mi |
| Charles J. Riley/ School 9Paterson | Pre-K–8 | 682 | Public | 1.4 mi |
| Dale AvenuePaterson | Pre-K–2 | 228 | Public | 0.3 mi |
| Dr. Hani Awadallah SchoolPaterson | Pre-K–8 | 575 | Public | 1.3 mi |
| Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Educational ComplexPaterson | Pre-K–8 | 513 | Public | 0.9 mi |
| Edward W. KilpatrickPaterson | Pre-K–3 | 295 | Public | 0.2 mi |
| School 15Paterson | Pre-K–5 | 577 | Public | 0.3 mi |
| School 16Paterson | Pre-K–8 | 813 | Public | 0.8 mi |
| School 21Paterson | Pre-K–8 | 665 | Public | 0.9 mi |
| School 24Paterson | Pre-K–8 | 668 | Public | 0.6 mi |
| School 25Paterson | Pre-K–8 | 526 | Public | 1.5 mi |
| School 26Paterson | Pre-K–8 | 419 | Public | 1.2 mi |
| School 27Paterson | Pre-K–5 | 641 | Public | 1.9 mi |
| School 28Paterson | Pre-K–8 | 463 | Public | 0.8 mi |
| Alexander Hamilton AcademyPaterson | K–8 | 439 | Public | 0.2 mi |
| Brilla New Jersey Charter SchoolPaterson | K–6 | 362 | Charter | 0.6 mi |
| College Achieve Paterson Charter SchoolPaterson | K–12 | 1,688 | Charter | 0.8 mi |
| Community Charter School of PatersonPaterson | K–8 | 896 | Charter | 0.8 mi |
| Norman S. WeirPaterson | K–8 | 272 | Public | 0.4 mi |
| Paterson Arts and Science Charter SchoolPaterson | K–12 | 1,330 | Charter | 0.9 mi |
| Paterson Charter School for Science and TechnologyPaterson | K–12 | 1,708 | Charter | 1.4 mi |
| Philip's Academy Charter School of PatersonPaterson | K–8 | 683 | Charter | 0.4 mi |
| Roberto ClementePaterson | K–5 | 254 | Public | 0.2 mi |
| School 1Paterson | K–5 | 217 | Public | 1.2 mi |
| School 10Paterson | K–8 | 474 | Public | 0.9 mi |
| School 12Paterson | K–8 | 474 | Public | 1.1 mi |
| School 13Paterson | K–8 | 499 | Public | 0.6 mi |
| School 19Paterson | K–4 | 288 | Public | 1.4 mi |
| School 2Paterson | K–8 | 473 | Public | 0.7 mi |
| School 20Paterson | K–8 | 343 | Public | 1.3 mi |
And 19 more.
| School | Grades | Students | Affiliation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compassion House Outreach Mnstr & Chrstan Educ CtrPaterson | Pre-K–8 | 34 | Pentecostal | 0.7 mi |
| Gilmore Memorial Chris AcdPaterson | Pre-K–TK | 1 | Church of God in Christ | 1.2 mi |
| St Gerard Majella SchoolPaterson | Pre-K–8 | 124 | Roman Catholic | 1.6 mi |
| Dawn Treader Christian SchoolPaterson | K–8 | 99 | Christian (no specific denomination) | 0.9 mi |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, NCES: Common Core of Data (2024-2025) for public schools; Private School Universe Survey (2023-2024) for private schools. Listed by address; we don’t rate schools.
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Town boundaries don’t always match ZIP codes: a ZIP code can cross into neighboring towns, and a town can share a ZIP code with its neighbors. Facts describe the town itself; market figures describe whole ZIP codes.