Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,366. Public schools that outperform most of Florida.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Ridge Wood Heights grades B overall, ranked 124th of 634 in Florida. Its schools outperform 84% of the state's and the median household earns $70K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $371K, 4.6 years of the North Port metro’s $81K median household income. Ridge Wood Heights’ January low is 53°F, against 51°F in Florida’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns. On history, just 62 of Florida’s 779 towns do better. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top.
Where Ridge Wood Heights beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Ridge Wood Heights’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Florida), ordered by how far Ridge Wood Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,528 in 1970, 5,064 in 2020. The archive holds 4 maps from 1944 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ridge Wood Heights. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaTropicana Field
20 mi BeachAnna Maria Island
7 mi MuseumJohn and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
3 mi BeachSiesta Beach
34 mi MuseumSalvador Dalí Museum
27 mi Park & preserveFort De Soto ParkTropicana Field: EaglesFanInTampa, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Anna Maria Island: Bfpage at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 · John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art: Taty2007, CC BY 3.0 · Siesta Beach: 4net, CC BY 3.0 · Salvador Dalí Museum: Taty2007, CC BY 3.0 · Fort De Soto Park: Christopher Hollis, Public domain
Ridge Wood Heights is unincorporated, so Sarasota County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Ridge Wood Heights.
Ridge Wood Heights has schools in the top 5% of Florida, has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has added half again as many jobs in ten years.
Its A− ranks #24 of the 638 Florida towns we grade for schools. Its A− for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $371K.
Its public schools are run by the Sarasota school district. Its one school is below. The largest public high school is Riverview High School, with 2,637 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverview High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,637 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within FL on state tests and graduation
Since 1983, 66 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ridge Wood Heights.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 481 in 2013 to 819.
Most working residents leave Ridge Wood Heights for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Ridge Wood Heights has added 338 jobs, to 819 in 2023. Ridge Wood Heights’ average trip to work is 23 minutes.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 5% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 8.4% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Bradenton 5 Ese weather station, 11 miles away, records that about 116 days a year reach 90°, more than in 97% of U.S. towns. January nights average 52.6°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 91.7°.
Ridge Wood Heights has warm winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Ridge Wood Heights is 92°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ridge Wood Heights beats the Florida average on 5 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 17% of adults binge drink in Ridge Wood Heights.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 23% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 37% | 36% |
| What stands out | Ridge Wood Heights | FL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.6% | 16.8% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.5% | 13.9% |
| More adults with depression | 20.5% | 17.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Florida average. 16% of Ridge Wood Heights residents are under 18. 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 34% across Florida.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 45.2 years | 42.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 31% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 20% | 18% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Florida, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Ridge Wood Heights | FL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.2% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.6% | 8.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.3% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.6% | 13.4% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.3% | 11.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.9% | 9.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 10.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.7% | 27.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.5% | 18.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.6% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.5% | 21.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9% | 12.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
0.7 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Red Bug Slough Preserve, at 20 acres.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Florida towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Red Bug Slough Preserve | 0.4 mi | 20 |
| 2. Bee Ridge Park | 0.2 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Ridge Wood Heights
About 7 of every 100 Ridge Wood Heights residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Florida.
Census-designated place in Florida, United States
Ridge Wood Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,064 at the 2020 census, up from 4,795 at the 2010 census. It is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Ridge Wood Heights.
| Town | FL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridge Wood Heights | #124 | B | C− | — | A− | B |
| South Sarasota | #177 | B− | D− | — | A− | A− |
| South Gate Ridge | #162 | B− | D | — | A− | B+ |
Ridge Wood Heights, South Sarasota and South Gate Ridge report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ridge Wood Heights with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Ridge Wood Heights grades B overall, better than 55% of U.S. towns and #124 of 634 in Florida. It grades B for health and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $371,000, 1% below the Florida typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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