At 8.7%, unemployment in Ridgewood is higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 71% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Ridgewood are C+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers; Illinois has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Ridgewood apart
Ridgewood is a place people come home to
There are 30 jobs based in Ridgewood, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Ridgewood has about 1,700 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Ridgewood and Joliet trade workers both ways
Joliet is the top workplace for Ridgewood residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Ridgewood come from (37% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A young workforce
33% of Ridgewood’s working residents are 29 or younger, about one in three. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Ridgewood’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ridgewood is better than 44% of U.S. towns, #535 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Ridgewood’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ridgewood could be anywhere from C− to A+.
Ridgewood on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,116 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 27 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Ridgewood on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
0.03 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
15% of working residents work in Joliet
Where Ridgewood clocks in
15% of workers
12% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What the 30 jobs in Ridgewood are
30 jobs are based in Ridgewood.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ridgewood, 2013 → 2023: 20 → 30. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ridgewood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 29 minutes each way for Ridgewood’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ridgewood workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,316 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Near or far: the trip to work from Ridgewood
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most trips from Ridgewood start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ridgewood is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns, #545 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,389 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 44% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 5.5% of Ridgewood households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ridgewood’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,527th of 4,703: where Ridgewood ranks among U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Deer Park IL | 3,647 | $174K | 1.3% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,525 | Amherst VA | 2,146 | $71K | 9.1% | 0.0% | 15% | C+ |
| 2,526 | Catlin NY | 2,450 | $81K | 8.9% | 5.0% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,527 | Ridgewood IL | 2,795 | $93K | 22.8% | 8.7% | <1% | C+ |
| 2,528 | Tolono IL | 3,499 | $70K | 4.6% | 11.4% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,529 | East Jordan MI | 2,243 | $60K | 10.5% | 0.9% | 24% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ridgewood, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
The towns next door employ 15% of Ridgewood
Jobs & commute next door
The biggest share goes to Joliet. Darker towns draw more of Ridgewood’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ridgewood: questions
What is the median household income in Ridgewood?
$92,500 (±$29,852) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ridgewood?
22.8%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ridgewood?
29 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ridgewood work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Joliet (15%, 6 mi), Chicago (12%, 28 mi), Bolingbrook (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ridgewood walkable?
Ridgewood is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 12.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ridgewood without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 44% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ridgewood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ridgewood
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.