Clifton, city, Passaic county, northeastern New Jersey, U.S. It lies along the Passaic River, between Paterson and Passaic cities. Settled in 1685, it was part of the Acquackanock Tract bought in 1679 by the Dutch from the Delaware Indians. It was a part of Passaic until 1917, when it was incorporated as Clifton. Clifton is situated in a heavily industrialized area and constitutes a major segment of the Bergen-Passaic metropolitan statistical area. Its manufactures include steel, textiles, chemicals, electrical products, plastics, and paperboard and other paper products. Pop. (2000) 78,672; (2010) 84,136.