Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Park Ridge is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 18th among New Jersey's 466 graded towns. The median household earns $171K, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, and residents are healthier than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $851K, 8.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. Park Ridge’s median household income is $171,000, where New Jersey’s towns sit at $113,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Park Ridge is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. Park Ridge has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Park Ridge Station and Wortendyke Barn.
Where Park Ridge beats most towns.
Where Park Ridge’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Park Ridge is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 4%), so the A+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 870 in 1900, 8,883 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 5 maps from 1910 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Park Ridge. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw19 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw18 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw25 mi MuseumUnited States Military AcademyCentral Park: Ed Yourdon from New York City, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Madison Square Garden: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 · MetLife Stadium: babyknight, CC BY 2.0 · Studio 54: Americasroof (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hugo Schneider, CC BY-SA 2.0 · United States Military Academy: USMA Public Affairs Office, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Park Ridge, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Park Ridge.
Park Ridge has less food insecurity than most of New Jersey and has household incomes well above the New Jersey norm, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
Park Ridge’s rate of reported violence stands at 0.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Park Ridge | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The largest public high school is Park Ridge High School, with 491 students. Public schools: the Park Ridge School District. Its three schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Ridge Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 343 | A |
| Park Ridge High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 491 | A |
| East Brook Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 314 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 7.1% of its 7,111 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide. Against the 1,650 U.S. towns with household incomes like Park Ridge’s, it is healthier than 76%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Four fifths of Park Ridge adults had a checkup this year. CDC measures, 32 in all: Park Ridge beats New Jersey on 15 and trails on 2. Two figures for adults here: 15% have been diagnosed with depression, 7.8% smoke cigarettes.
| Park Ridge | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 28% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.8% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Park Ridge | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.1% | 14.3% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.9% | 7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 8.6 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $851K) costs more against local pay than in 83% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
The midpoint rent in Park Ridge is $2,257 a month. In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 6.1%. A home in Park Ridge typically sold within 69 days of listing.
| Park Ridge | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,257 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The share of workers in Park Ridge who work remotely from home: 24%. Most people who work leave Park Ridge to do it: just 6% work in town. Since 2013, Park Ridge has lost 637 jobs, to 2,688 in 2023. The median commute is under 13 miles.
| Park Ridge | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 24% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 1.5% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 68% of U.S. communities. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Park Ridge after 11 declared disasters, most recently in 2021. Flood insurance has paid out on 14 claims here since 1979.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 86°; in January, nights fall to 22°, and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Walkers can cover 1.2 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. For Park Ridge, the density of trails is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Park Ridge | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 8.9% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fairview Avenue Park | 0.3 mi | 9 |
| 2. Wood Dale County Park | 0.1 mi | 9 |
| 3. Wooddale County Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
43 within 15 miles of the center of Park Ridge
About 6 of every 100 Park Ridge residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
3 places in Park Ridge on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Park Ridge.
Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, US
Park Ridge is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,883, its highest decennial census count ever and an increase of 238 (+2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,645, which in turn had reflected a decline of 63 (−0.7%) from the 8,708 counted at the 2000 census. Park Ridge has continued to grow in population since the 2020 census, by 557 (+6.3%) to an estimated 9,440 residents as of 2023.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Park Ridge.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Ridge | #18 | A+ | D− | A+ | A− | A+ |
| Woodcliff Lake | #24 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
| River Vale Township | #6 | A+ | C− | A+ | A− | A+ |
| Montvale | #78 | A | D | B+ | A− | A+ |
| Hillsdale | #8 | A+ | D | A+ | A− | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. It grades A+ for health, A+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes, by national standards. Park Ridge reports less crime per resident than 97% of U.S. towns, an A+ Safety Grade: 1 violent and 13 property crimes in 2025.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
4 notable people were born here, including Matt Turner and Brian Cushing.
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