Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, located about 12 miles northwest of Manhattan. Home to roughly 26,700 residents, it occupies a distinctive position in North Jersey as both a quiet residential community and one of the region's most important commercial centers. The borough's roots are agricultural. Dutch families, including the Zabriskies, settled the area in the early 1700s and farmed the land for generations, and the Arcola Country Club, established in 1909, marked an early step toward suburban development. Paramus' transformation accelerated after World War II, when its population rose from roughly 6,000 in 1948 to about 23,000 by 1958 as new highways opened the borough to commuters and suburban migration. Today Paramus is best known for retail. Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus Park, and Bergen Town Center form one of the nation's densest shopping corridors, generating substantial commercial revenue for the borough. Bergen County's blue laws, which keep most retail stores closed on Sundays, give the town a distinctive weekly rhythm—busy commercial districts six days a week and quieter streets on the seventh—while helping manage traffic in a densely developed area. Public schools are served by the Paramus Public Schools district, which operates eight campuses for roughly 3,600 students and is consistently highly rated. Recreation is anchored by two large county parks—the 130-acre Van Saun County Park with its zoo, train, and playgrounds, and the 577-acre Saddle River County Park with its linear multi-use path—plus four golf courses. The Route 4 and Route 17 interchange and the Garden State Parkway provide highway access, and NJ Transit buses connect the borough to New York City. The result is a suburb that pairs top-tier shopping, strong schools, and green space with one of the region's shortest commutes to Manhattan.