The magazine was created for opinion leaders, policymakers, and concerned citizens who are interested in developing solutions to some of the world’s toughest social and environmental problems. The pub's target readers are "influentials" who read the Economist, The Atlantic, Mother Jones and Wired, but Streshinsky differentiates Pacific Standard by focusing on the behavioral and social sciences.

For stories to expect from Pacific Standard, editor-in-chief Maria Streshinsky has said:

"... we’re also committed to producing old-fashioned, well-told, deeply reported magazine journalism on subjects and characters of national interest or curiosity—we just want to do it in a way that is especially steeped in the relevant research literature and intellectual context. We value great storytelling and cogent analysis as much as anyone else on the block. And we love “conceptual scoops”—the kind of piece that can powerfully, sharply, and accurately reframe the reader’s understanding of an important, complex subject."[10]

In 2014, Pacific Standard was nominated for its first-ever National Magazine Award, presented by the American Society of Magazine Editors, in the category of General Excellence for Literature, Science and Politics Magazines.