Steady state properties in the absorbing phase of the 1d pair contact process (PCP) model are investigated. It is shown that, in typical absorbing states (reached by the system's dynamic rules), the density of isolated particles, ρ1, approaches a stationary value which depends on the annihilation probability (p); the deviation from its 'natural' value at criticality, ρ nat 1 , follows a power law: ρ nat 1 − ρ1 ∼ (p − pc) β 1 for p > pc. Monte Carlo simulations yield β1 = 0.81. A cluster approximation is developed for this model, qualitatively confirming the numerical results and predicting β1 = 1. The singular behavior of the isolated particles density in the inactive phase is explained using a phenomenological approach.