Passaic County, New Jersey

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 county was the state's eighth-most-populous county, with a population of 524,118, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 22,892 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 501,226, which in turn reflected 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 30% 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. The county is part of the North Jersey region of the state.

History

Etymology

Passaic County was created on February 7, 1837, from portions of Bergen and Essex counties. The county derives its name from "Pasaeck", which is a native Lenape word meaning "valley".

Geography and climate

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. The county has a humid continental climate which is hot-summer (Dfa) except in higher areas to the north where it is warm-summer (Dfb).

The landscape of Passaic County, near the north edge of New Jersey, spans some hilly areas and has dozens of lakes. The county covers a region about 30 × 20 miles wide (48 × 32 km). The region is split by major roads, including portions of Interstate 287 and Interstate 80, near Paterson. The Garden State Parkway cuts across the southern end, near Clifton. The Passaic River winds northeast past Totowa into Paterson, where the river then turns south to Passaic, on the way to Newark, further south.

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 U.S. Census Bureau, as of the 2020 Census, the county had a total area of 198.39 square miles (513.8 km²), of which 186.01 square miles (481.8 km²) was land (93.8%) and 12.38 square miles (32.1 km²) was water (6.2%).

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, the county 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, 5.76% Asian, 0.13% Native American, 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

The 2010 United States census counted 501,226 people, 166,785 households, and 120,919 families 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 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 or Latino of any race were 37.04% (185,677) of the population.

Of the 166,785 households, 34.5% had children under the age of 18; 48.7% were married couples living together; 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 27.5% were non-families. Of all households, 22.6% 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.

24.9% of the population were 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, the population had 94.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 91.1 males.

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

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 489,049 people, 163,856 households, and 119,614 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,639 inhabitants per square mile (1,019/km²). There were 170,048 housing units at an average density of 918 per square mile (354/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 62.32% White, 13.22% Black or African American, 0.44% Native American, 3.69% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 16.24% from other races, and 4.05% from two or more races. 29.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Among those who reported their ancestry, 16.6% were of Italian, 9.5% Irish, 8.1% German and 6.2% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 163,856 households, out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.50% were married couples living together, 16.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were non-families. 22.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.42.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.10% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,210, and the median income for a family was $56,054. Males had a median income of $38,740 versus $29,954 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,370. About 9.40% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.30% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government

County government

The Passaic County Court House and Administration Building complex is located at the county seat in Paterson. In Passaic County's commission form of government, the Board of County Commissioners discharges both executive and legislative responsibilities. Seven Commissioners are elected at-large for three-year terms on a staggered basis. A Director and Deputy Director are elected from among the seven Commissioners, at an annual reorganization meeting in January. Passaic County operates through six standing committees of the Board of County Commissioners. They are: Administration & Finance; Health, Education and Community Affairs; Public Works and Buildings & Grounds; Law & Public Safety; Human Services and Planning and Economic Development. The Commissioners also appoint individuals to departments, agencies, boards, and commissions for the effective administration of the county government. In 2016, commissioners were paid $28,500, and the director was paid an annual salary of $29,500. The Commissioners select a County Administrator, who, in the role of chief administrative officer, supervises the day-to-day operation of the county government and its departments; County counsel Matthew Jordan took office as administrator in 2022, succeeding Anthony J. DeNova III, who had served as administrator for 19 years.

As of 2024, Passaic County's Commissioners are (with terms for Chair and Vice-Chair ending every December 31):

Gallo's 2021 third-place finish for the three Board seats at stake then represents the first time any Republicans have been in the county government since now-State Senator Kristin Corrado left her position as County Clerk to win that seat in 2017, as well as the first time the Board has had any Republican members at all since 2012, when then-Freeholders Deborah E. Ciambrone, Michael Marrotta, and Edward O'Connell were defeated. In March 2023, the commission swore Orlando Cruz, the president of the Greater Paterson Chamber of Commerce (as well as its counterpart in neighboring Wayne), into office to replace retiring commissioner T.J. Best, who resigned at the beginning of the month to spend time with family members down in Georgia.

Constitutional officers, elected on a countywide basis, are:

The Passaic County Prosecutor is Camelia M. Valdes of Bloomingdale, who was appointed by Governor of New Jersey Jon S. Corzine in May 2009, and renominated by Governor Chris Christie in June 2015. Passaic County constitutes Vicinage 11 of the New Jersey Superior Court and is seated at the Passaic County Court House in Paterson; the Assignment Judge for Vicinage 11 is Ernest M. Caposela. Law enforcement at the county level is provided by the Passaic County Sheriff's Office and the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office, which occasionally assist local police forces with investigations and patrol efforts.

Federal representatives

Three Congressional Districts cover the county, with most of the northern portion of the county in the 5th District, most of the southern portion of the county in the 9th District, and the central portion of the county in the 11th District. For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff). For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 9th congressional district is represented by Bill Pascrell (D, Paterson). For the 118th United States Congress, New Jersey's 11th congressional district is represented by Mikie Sherrill (D, Montclair).

State representatives

The 16 municipalities of Passaic County are represented by seven separate legislative districts.

Highlands protection

In 2004, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, which regulates the New Jersey Highlands region. The northwestern area of the county, comprising the municipalities of Bloomingdale, Pompton Lakes, Ringwood, Wanaque and West Milford, was included in the highlands preservation area and is subject to the rules of the act and the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council, a division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Some of the territory in the protected region is classified as being in the highlands preservation area, and thus subject to additional rules.

Law enforcement

The Passaic County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement functions throughout the entirety of the county, plus unincorporated county area police patrol, detective, crime scene investigation, SWAT, K-9 function, operation of the Passaic County Jail, and the security of all county-owned facilities, including the Passaic County Court House and Administration Building. All of the incorporated municipalities within the county also have separate local police departments, almost always exclusively providing law enforcement operations within their physical boundaries.

In January 2024, Sheriff Richard Berdnik committed suicide inside a Turkish restaurant.

Transportation

Public transportation

Passaic County has a number of NJ Transit stations, including Montclair State University, Little Falls, Wayne/Route 23, and Mountain View on the Montclair-Boonton Line. The “Main Line” corridor also runs through the county and includes the following stations: Hawthorne, Paterson, Clifton, Passaic and Delawanna.

Roads and highways

Passaic County has numerous important roads that travel within its borders:

Major county roads that pass through include: CR 502 (only in Wayne), CR 504, CR 509 CR 511 and CR 513.

Route 19 runs entirely through the county, connecting the Garden State Parkway with Interstate 80 and Paterson. Both Route 20 and Route 21 run along the eastern border alongside the Passaic River. Route 23 runs through the western section of the county, while both Route 3 and Route 161 go through Clifton. Route 62 also runs passes through entirely in Totowa. U.S. Route 202 runs roughly north-south only in Wayne Township while U.S. Route 46 traverses east-west.

Interstate 80 (Bergen-Passaic Expressway) runs east-west through the county, while Interstate 287 passes through the mountainous sections of Passaic. The Garden State Parkway also runs through the county solely in Clifton.

Politics

As of August 1, 2020, there were a total of 318,029 registered voters in Passaic County, of which 128,114 (40.3%) were registered as Democrats, 64,389 (20.3%) were registered as Republicans and 120,282 (37.8%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 5,244 (1.7%) voters registered to other parties. Among the county's 2010 Census population, 53.2% were registered to vote, including 70.8% of those ages 18 and over.

In the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, Democrat Barack Obama received over 60% of the vote here in both elections. However, in the 2016 presidential election, Democratic support declined to 59.5%, although nominee Hillary Clinton still won the county comfortably overall, and the 2020 presidential election saw Democratic support decline to 57.5% - a margin of 16.5% for former Vice President Joe Biden over Republican President Donald Trump, which was a slightly wider margin than the state as a whole. Passaic County's namesake municipality, the small city of Passaic, saw the biggest overall drop for Biden compared to Clinton among its municipalities, while helping Trump narrow the gap in the county generally in 2020 compared to 2016:

2016: Clinton 12,275 (75%) - Trump 3,743 (22.8%) (all other candidates with 347 combined votes in the city - 2.2%)

2020: Biden 11,638 (62.5%) - Trump 6,835 (36.7%) (all other candidates with 162 combined votes in the city - 0.8%)

In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 50.8% of the vote here (57,010 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 43.2% (48,500 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 3.8% (4,288 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (981 votes), among the 112,278 ballots cast by the county's 262,723 registered voters, yielding a 42.7% turnout. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Governor Chris Christie received 52.9% of the vote (53,858 votes) to Democrat Barbara Buono's 45.9% (46,825 votes), marking the only time in the 21st century the county voted Republican. In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Democrat Phil Murphy received 60.3% of the vote (57,415 votes) to Republican Kim Guadagno's 38.0% (36,230 votes), almost matching the county's pro-Democratic percentage achieved by Brendan Byrne in 1973 (71,673 - 60.5%). In the 2021 gubernatorial election, Democratic Governor Phil Murphy received 51.5% of the vote (57,812 votes) to Republican Jack Ciattarelli's 47.7% (53,551 votes).

Municipalities

The 16 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.

Economy

The Bureau of Economic Analysis calculated that the county's gross domestic product was $20.5 billion in 2021, which was ranked 13th in the state and was a 4.8% increase from the prior year.

Corporate residents

• Toys "R" Us' former US corporate headquarters was in Wayne.
• Valley National Bank's corporate headquarters is in Wayne.
• Linens ‘n Things's headquarters office was in Clifton 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.

Media

Passaic County is served by New York City-based commercial television & radio stations and New Jersey Network public television.

• The West Milford Messenger, community newspaper in West Milford area
• The Record, Suburban Trends and AIM West Milford, a weekly community newspaper

Points of interest

• Dey Mansion, in Preakness, Wayne, served as Washington's Headquarters on several occasions during the American Revolutionary War.
• Garret Mountain Reservation in Paterson and Woodland Park is a National Natural Landmark covering 568 acres (230 ha).
• Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in Paterson
• High Mountain Park Preserve in Wayne
• Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson is a stadium with 7,000 seats that was used as a venue for Negro league baseball, and is the home of the New Jersey Jackals of the Frontier League. After 25 years at Yogi Berra Stadium on the campus of Montclair State University, the Jackals relocated to Hinchliffe Stadium for the 2023 season starting in May 2023.
• 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 was home to the New Jersey Jackals until 2022, as well as Montclair State's baseball team. The stadium has a capacity of 5,000, with permanent seating of 3,784, and lawn seating, which holds an additional 1,500.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Passaic County, New Jersey

References

External links

• Passaic County web site