The film intricately explores one week in the life of Paterson, a dedicated bus driver in the town of Paterson. Each day unfolds with a predictable routine. Paterson, who shares his life with his girlfriend, Laura, wakes up around the same time every morning, between 6:10 and 6:30 AM, without the aid of an alarm clock. Interestingly, he also chooses to live without a cellphone. After a simple breakfast, he strolls to work, and during his commute, he cultivates poetry in his thoughts. While on the bus, he carefully records his poetic inspirations in a private notebook, a secret he only shares with Laura.
Throughout his day, Paterson completes his driving route and often finds solace during his lunch break at the picturesque Paterson Falls. Returning home, he discovers that Laura has indulged in her artistic pursuits, transforming mundane items like drapes and dresses into black-and-white masterpieces. Equipped with ambition, she dreams of launching a cupcake business and persuades Paterson to invest in a $600 guitar and lessons, even though she has no prior experience with the instrument.
Each evening, Paterson takes their bulldog for a walk, leaving him outside a local bar while he enjoys a refreshing beer and a friendly chat with the bar owner. One night, he encounters a woman trying to escape her needy boyfriend, setting up a chain of emotional events. The routine does experience occasional variations; one day, he meets a girl engaged in her own poetry writing, but he refrains from revealing his own poet identity. She shares a poem with him, which he later recites to Laura.
On another night at the bar, the scene takes a dangerous turn when the boyfriend threatens self-harm, but Paterson intervenes and discovers the weapon is merely a toy. A mechanical hiccup occurs on Friday when his bus breaks down, forcing him to borrow a phone from a passenger for help.
As the weekend approaches, Laura has baked her signature cupcakes, decorated in black and white, to sell at the farmer’s market. By the time she returns, she has earned nearly $300 from the sale. Eager to celebrate, they leave the dog behind but return to discover he has devoured Paterson's cherished notebook. He had promised Laura to make a photocopy but never got around to it.
Seeking solitude, Paterson visits the Falls, where he crosses paths with a Japanese tourist who admires a collection of poetry by William Carlos Williams. Sharing the bond of poetry, the tourist wishes to see the hometown of Williams. Paterson keeps his own poetic pursuits a secret but is gifted a blank notebook by the tourist. This kind gesture reignites his passion, and he begins to weave poetry once more.
