The movie was filmed at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey. The camp is still in operation, and it has a wall of Friday the 13th (1980) memorabilia to honor that the movie was set there.
Betsy Palmer said that if it were not for the fact that she was in desperate need of a new car, she would never have accepted the role of Pamela Voorhees. In fact, after she read the script, she called the movie "a piece of shit." Over the years, however, Palmer did warm up to the film, as it made her more famous than infamous, and made appearances at conventions and in documentaries to discuss it.
The film earned $39,754,601 at the domestic box office on a budget of $550,000. Its worldwide gross was $59,754,601.
Tom Savini was one of the first crew members on board for the film because the producers idolized his special make-up effects in Dawn of the Dead (1978).
Composer Harry Manfredini came up with the now classic "ki ki ki ma ma ma" vocals attached to the score. It's his voice as well.