Paterson is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, Paterson was the state's third-most-populous municipality, with a population of 159,732. an increase of 13,533 from the 2010 census count of 146,199, which in turn reflected a decline of 3,023 from the 149,222 counted in the 2000 census.