Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Florida. In Florida, this town has 5,366 residents.
A solid town with one catch. Its best grade is for schools (A−): its schools outperform 84% of the state's. With a B overall, Ridge Wood Heights is better than 55% of U.S. towns and ranks 124th of 634 in Florida. Incomes are another plus — the median household earns $70K. What counts against it is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $371K, 4.6 years of the North Port metro’s $81K median household income. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. On history, just 62 of Florida’s 779 towns do better. Ridge Wood Heights’ January low is 53°F, against 51°F in Florida’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
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.
That grade ranks #24 of the 638 Florida towns we grade for schools. It 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. 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
All told, 66 flood insurance claims have been paid in Ridge Wood Heights since 1983. 64% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from hurricanes, followed by inland flooding at 30%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jobs based here grew from 481 in 2013 to 819.
Only 3% of working residents stay in Ridge Wood Heights for work; the rest commute out. Since 2013, Ridge Wood Heights has added 338 jobs, to 819 in 2023. Ridge Wood Heights’ typical journey to work is put at 23 minutes. For half of commuters, work is under 6 miles away.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Typical Florida town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 53°, milder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 92°.
Snow is a rarity.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Typical Florida town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 53°F | 51°F | 22°F |
| July high | 92°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Across all 31 CDC measures, Ridge Wood Heights beats Florida on 5 and trails on 2. For adults here, the share who binge drink is 17%. In Ridge Wood Heights, just over a fifth of adults have been diagnosed with depression, and 35% sleep under 7 hours.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Typical Florida town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Age groups here sit within 4 points of the Florida average. Among residents in Ridge Wood Heights, 16% are under 18. Florida has just over a third of adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more; here it is 35%. The median age here locally is 45.2 years.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Typical Florida town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
The biggest park or preserve is Red Bug Slough Preserve, at 20 acres. 0.7 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. In Ridge Wood Heights, the trail network density is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Typical Florida town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
Ridge Wood Heights’ going rate for rent is recorded as $1,587 a month. On the market here: a median 63 days to sell. In Ridge Wood Heights, 77% of households live in a home they own.
| Ridge Wood Heights | Typical Florida town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,587 a month | $1,647 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 72% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · 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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