Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,630, established in 1867.
The best of Ridgely’s subject grades are an A− for walkability and history; the weakest is a C for incomes. On hazard risk, just 18 of Maryland’s 329 towns do worse. Thomas House and Oak Lawn is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ridgely has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Ridgely beats most towns.
Where Ridgely’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Maryland), ordered by how far Ridgely is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 81 in 1880, 1,611 in 2020. The archive holds 3 maps from 1905 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ridgely, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Mar 11, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Ridgely.
Its public schools are run by the Caroline County Public Schools. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgely Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 433 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MD on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Ridgely for work: only 3% work in town. At 35 minutes, Ridgely’s average trip to work is where Maryland’s towns sit at 32 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Ridgely’s median household income is $62,000.
| Ridgely | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 32 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.9% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ridgely has chilly winters and warm summers. At 89°F, Ridgely’s July high is close to Maryland’s towns (88°F) and above U.S. towns (85°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ridgely beats the Maryland average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 18% of Ridgely adults report frequent mental distress. Only 9 of the 262 Maryland towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Ridgely.
| Ridgely | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 20% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 36% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ridgely | MD |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 16% | 10.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.1% | 5.9% |
| More adults with depression | 24.6% | 19.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Ridgely home is worth about $369,000, up 1.7% in a year, 13% below the Maryland typical home. 63% of households own their home in Ridgely.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.8 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Among 249 Maryland towns, just 10 have a lower share of conserved land than Ridgely. The biggest park or preserve is Martin Sutton Memorial Park, at 20 acres.
| Ridgely | Maryland towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 9.5% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Martin Sutton Memorial Park | 0.6 mi | 20 |
| 2. Historic Railroad Memorial Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ridgely. Close and well known come first.
34 mi Stadium & arenaNavy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
38 mi Theme parkMaryland Renaissance Festival
17 mi Ancient siteWye House
33 mi LandmarkUnited States Naval Academy Cemetery
39 mi LandmarkFort Carroll
26 mi MuseumAir Mobility Command MuseumNavy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium: Damon J. Moritz, Public domain · Maryland Renaissance Festival: Wiki publius at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Wye House: Historic American Buildings Survey, Public domain · United States Naval Academy Cemetery: Unknown, Public domain · Fort Carroll: Jstuby at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Air Mobility Command Museum: Teamski1, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ridgely
About 3 of every 100 Ridgely residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Maryland.
Town in Maryland
Ridgely is a town in Caroline County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, Ridgely had a population of 1,611.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 5.4 years of the area's median household income ($68,457 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
Ridgely was established in 1867 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 2 notable people were born here, including Robert P. Dean and Wilbert Pritchett.
