Passaic County, New Jersey

Passaic County
Location within the U.S. state of New Jersey
New Jersey's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°02′N 74°18′W / 41.03°N 74.30°W / 41.03; -74.30
Country United States
State New Jersey
FoundedFebruary 7, 1837
Named after"Pasaeck", a Lenape word meaning "valley"
SeatPaterson
Largest municipalityPaterson (population)
West Milford (area)
Government
  Commissioner DirectorPat Lepore (D, term ends December 31, 2025)
Area
  Total
198.39 sq mi (513.8 km2)
  Land186.01 sq mi (481.8 km2)
  Water12.38 sq mi (32.1 km2)  6.2%
Population
 (2020)
  Total
524,118
  Estimate 
(2024)
526,597
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
  Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts5th, 9th, 11th
Websitepassaiccountynj.org

Passaic County (/pəˈs.ɪk/ pə-SAY-ik or locally /pəˈsk/ pə-SAYK) 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, the county seat, 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.