Paterson serves as an Everyman character and an authorial stand-in for William Carlos Williams. Functioning as both a doctor and a poet, he wanders through the streets, parks, and libraries of the city that shares his name, carefully observing the environment and its inhabitants. He struggles with traditional morality and engages in romantic affairs while contemplating the physical world and the meaning of poetry.

A.G. is a young, ambitious poet who previously attended Columbia University and spent time in a psychiatric hospital. He works at a newspaper in Newark and spends his free time wandering the poorer, bar-heavy neighborhoods of Paterson. He romanticizes poverty and views himself as part of a poetic lineage deeply connected to the city.

Phyllis is a young caretaker who maintains multiple complex relationships while working for Corydon. She goes on fly-fishing trips with her steady boyfriend while carrying on a secret affair with the older, married Paterson. Alongside her romantic entanglements, she deals with family stress, frequently writing demanding letters to her father about his alcohol consumption.

Cress is an amateur poet who experiences chronic financial distress and marginalization. She writes extensively to Paterson to express her anger over his perceived lack of adequate friendship and to lament how her attitudes toward women are treated differently in literature versus real life.

Corydon is an older woman who employs Phyllis as a caretaker and companion. She writes poetry incorporating natural imagery and invites Phyllis to spend time in the woods with her.

A historical inhabitant of the city who falls into the river below Passaic Falls and drowns. Her body is only recovered later, demonstrating the physical dangers of the city's natural environment.

A historical townsperson with a substance use disorder who leaps into Passaic Falls while the town works to build a bridge. He later drowns after jumping into Niagara Falls.

A local man who confronts Paterson, claiming it is his fault that the police caught and killed his dog.

An African American letter-writer whose correspondence adds to the chorus of distinct voices comprising the city's narrative. Her letters offer personal insights that blend with the overarching exploration of communication.

The addressee of letters sent by DJB, contributing to the epistolary network that runs throughout the text.

A historical resident of the area who shoots a spectral cat with a silver button. He harbors deep suspicions about the people living around him, interpreting everyday events through a lens of superstition.

A letter-writer who sends correspondence sharing the story of an impoverished Danish woman who struggles to care for her child.

An employee of the local water company who discovers a body in the river, emphasizing the dangerous currents running through the city.

A couple who live in early Paterson and become the victims of a brutal double homicide. The man executed for their murder claims no memory of committing the crime.

The author of the text occasionally appears as a distinct entity from his character stand-in, Paterson. He answers questions about the American idiom and writes an introduction for a younger poet's published collection.

A letter-writer who recounts a drunken night negotiating a price with a young sex worker in a Spanish-speaking country.