| |
Paterson was defined by the waterfall near which it was located, just as the river and previous glaciers had defined and refined the land of northern New Jersey. As the first planned industrial city in America, Paterson was once known as the "Silk City" due to the thriving textile manufacturing businesses powered by the falls. While the silk and cotton mill businesses eventually declined, Paterson has redefined itself as a regional service center and has maintained the historical thread of the industry that made Paterson part of the early fabric of the United States.
The City in Brief
| 1791 (incorporated, 1851) | |
| Mayor Jose Torres (since 2002) | |
| 137,970 | |
| 140,891 | |
| 149,222 | |
| 150,782 | |
| 5.9% | |
| 128th (State rank: 3rd) | |
| 147th (State rank: 3rd) | |
| 447,585 | |
| 453,060 | |
| 489,049 | |
| 7.9% | |
| Not reported | |
| 115th | |
| 8.73 square miles (2000) | |
| 70 feet above sea level | |
| January, 28.3° F; July, 74.6° F; annual average, 52.2° F | |
| 51.3 inches of overall precipitation; 27.6 inches of snowfall | |
| Services, education and health-care, trade, government, manufacturing | |
| 5.4% (NY–NJ MSA; February 2005) | |
| $13,257 (1999) | |
| Not reported | |
| Not reported | |
| 6,842 | |
| William Paterson University, Passaic County Community College, Berkeley College of Business-Garret Mountain campus | |
| The Herald News, The Record |
Cities of the United States. Copyright © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
