Passaic County, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Passaic County
County
The Great Falls of the Passaic River in Paterson
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of New Jersey
New Jersey's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Founded	February 7, 1837
Named for	"Pasaeck", a Lenape word meaning "valley"
Seat	Paterson
Largest city	Paterson (population) West Milford (area)
Area
• Total	197.10 sq mi (510.5 km2)
• Land	186 sq mi (480 km2)
• Water	12.51 sq mi (32.4 km2)  6.35%
Population  (2020)
• Total	524,118
• Density	2,839.4/sq mi (1,096.3/km2)
Congressional districts	5th, 9th, 11th

Bergen and Passaic counties, 1872

Passaic County ( pə-SAY-ik) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Passaic County was enumerated at 524,118, an increase of 22,892 (4.6%) from the 501,226 counted at the 2010 U.S. Census, in turn an increase of 12,177 (+2.5%) from the 489,049 counted in the 2000 Census. The most populous place in Passaic County is Paterson, with 159,732 residents at the 2020 Census, more than 29% of the county's population, while West Milford covered 80.32 square miles (208.0 km²), the largest total area of any municipality and more than 40% of the county's area.

Passaic County was created on February 7, 1837, from portions of Bergen and Essex counties.

Geography

The highest point is any one of six areas on Bearfort Ridge in West Milford at approximately 1,480 feet (450 m) above sea level. The lowest elevation is approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) along the Passaic River in Clifton.

The southeastern, more populous half of the county is either flat near the river or mildly hilly. The northwestern section is rugged and mountainous.

According to the 2010 Census, the county had a total area of 197.10 square miles (510.5 km²), including 184.59 square miles (478.1 km²) of land (93.7%) and 12.51 square miles (32.4 km²) of water (6.35%).

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the Census of 2020, the county's had 524,118 people, 168,059 households, and 120,593 families. The population density was 2,817.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,088.0/km²). There were 185,367 housing units at an average density of 996.59 per square mile (384.8/km²). The county's racial makeup was 38.8% White, 9.9% African American, 0.13% Native American, 5.76% Asian, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 42.74% of the population.

Of the 168,059 households, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 30.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 15.2% had a male householder with no wife present and 28.2% were non-families. 47.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.49.

About 23.7% of the county's population was under age 18, 9.6% was from age 18 to 24, 39.6% was from age 15 to 44, and 15.0% was age 65 or older. The median age was 37.7 years. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males.

The county's median household income was $77,040, and the median family income was $81,873. About 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.

2010 Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 501,226 people, 166,785 households, and 120,919 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,715.3 per square mile (1,048.4/km²). There were 175,966 housing units at an average density of 953.3 per square mile (368.1/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the county was 62.65% (314,001) White, 12.83% (64,295) Black or African American, 0.67% (3,348) Native American, 5.01% (25,092) Asian, 0.03% (156) Pacific Islander, 15.11% (75,735) from other races, and 3.71% (18,599) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37.04% (185,677) of the population.

There were 166,785 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.45.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 12% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.1 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 91.1 males.

Same-sex couples headed one in 149 households in 2010.

Municipalities

labeled outline map of municipalities

Municipalities in Passaic County (with 2010 Census data for population, housing units and area in square miles) are: Other, unincorporated communities in the county are listed next to their parent municipality. Most of these areas are census-designated places (CDPs) that have been created by the United States Census Bureau for enumeration purposes within a Township. Other communities and enclaves that exist within a municipality are also listed next to the name.

Transportation

Roads and highways

As of 2010^[update], the county had a total of 1,320.70 miles (2,125.46 km) of roadways, of which 1,024.41 miles (1,648.63 km) are maintained by the municipality, 237.45 miles (382.14 km) by Passaic County and 54.34 miles (87.45 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 4.50 miles (7.24 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The major highways that travel through Passaic County are Interstate 287, Interstate 80, U.S. Route 202, U.S. Route 46, Route 23, Route 21, Route 20, Route 19, Route 4, Route 3, and the Garden State Parkway. The parkway crosses the county in Clifton, connecting Bloomfield in Essex County to the south to Elmwood Park in Bergen County in the north. Parkway interchanges 153 (signed for Route 3 and Route 46 West) / 153A (for Route 3 East) / 153B (for Route 3 and Route 46 West), 154 (for Route 46), 155 (for Clifton) / 155P (for Clifton / Paterson) and 156 (to Route 46).

Public transportation

NJ Transit's Main Line serves the eastern part of Passaic County, with station stops at Hawthorne, Paterson, Clifton, Passaic and Delawanna. Numerous New Jersey Transit bus routes serve Passaic County as well.

Points of interest

• Dey Mansion Washington's Headquarters, Preakness, Wayne
• Garret Mountain Reservation in Paterson and Woodland Park
• Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in Paterson
• High Mountain Park Preserve in Wayne
• Lambert Castle in Paterson
• Long Pond Ironworks State Park in West Milford
• Paterson Museum, housed in the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works in Paterson
• Ringwood State Park in Ringwood
• Skylands, the New Jersey State Botanical Garden in Ringwood, are formal gardens that are open to the public year-round. Originally constructed for Clarence MacKenzie Lewis in the 1920s, the entire property was acquired by the State of New Jersey in 1966 to form a State Botanical Garden covering 4,000-acre (16 km²) which include a Lilac Garden, Magnolia Walk, the Wild Flower Garden, the Crab Apple Vista, an allée of 166 trees extending almost a half-mile, and the Perennial Garden.
• Yogi Berra Stadium in Little Falls - Located on the campus of Montclair State University, the stadium is home to the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League as well as Montclair State's baseball team. The stadium has a capacity of 5,000 persons with permanent seating of 3,784 people and lawn seating which holds an additional 1,500.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Paterson have ranged from a low of 19 °F (−7 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −11 °F (−24 °C) was recorded in January 1961 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in September 1953. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.86 inches (73 mm) in February to 4.78 inches (121 mm) in September.

Economy

• Toys "R" Us' former US corporate headquarters was in Wayne, NJ
• Valley National Bank's corporate headquarters is in Wayne, NJ.
• Linens ‘n Things's headquarters office was in Clifton, NJ and employed 17,500 before closing in 2009.
• JVC has their US office in Wayne and employ approximately 19,040.

Education

• Passaic County Community College, founded in 1971, serves students from Passaic County at campuses in Paterson, Wanaque and Wayne.
• William Paterson University, established in 1855, is a public university located in Wayne.
• Montclair State University, founded in 1908, is a public university located in Montclair, as well as portions of Little Falls and Clifton.
• Passaic County Technical Institute, founded in 1975, serves grades 9–12 with a higher level vocational schooling system.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Passaic para niños