Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Plenty to like here, at a price. With an A+ overall, Ridgewood is better than 95% of U.S. towns. Its place in the ranking is 42nd of 466 in New Jersey. Health is its strong suit (A+). Incomes are a strength too: the median household earns $208K. The drawback is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.3 million, 12.7 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income. The town has 13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them James Rose House and Ridgewood Station. Four in five adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more locally, above both New Jersey’s towns (45%) and U.S. towns (29%).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Ridgewood beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Ridgewood | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.9% | 14.3% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Ridge Elementary School | K–5 | 448 |
| Willard Elementary School | K–5 | 440 |
| Somerville Elementary School | K–5 | 394 |
Its 13 National Register listings are more than in 94% of New Jersey towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,047 in 1890, 25,979 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1785 and 8 maps from 1888 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), ordered by how far Ridgewood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ridgewood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi City parkCentral Park40.0M visitors a year
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaMadison Square Garden
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaMetLife Stadium
Big draw17 mi TheatreStudio 54
Big draw16 mi MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art2.0M visitors a year
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaYankee StadiumCentral 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 · Yankee Stadium: Matt Boulton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ridgewood, 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 Ridgewood.
Ridgewood has less food insecurity than most of New Jersey and trades workers with New York City and other neighbors, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of New Jersey.
At 12.7 years of the New York metro’s $99K median household income, the typical home (about $1.25M) costs more against local pay than in 95% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
On the market in Ridgewood: a median 58 days to sell. Home values are up 12% over the year to September 2026. In Ridgewood, the midpoint rent is $2,499 a month.
| Ridgewood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,499 a month | $1,778 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 83% | 77% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.25M.
The public schools here belong to the Ridgewood Public School District. Below: Three of its 16 schools, each with why it was picked. 6 public schools serve Ridgewood, with 2,282 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 644 | A− |
| Ridgewood High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,740 | A+ |
| Orchard Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 348 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with New Jersey is food insecurity: 5.9% of its 18,458 adults worry about having enough food, against 14.3% statewide.
For adults in Ridgewood, the share who have obesity is 23%. Ridgewood: nearly one in ten adults report frequent physical distress.
| Ridgewood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.5% | 12% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 28% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.2% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Ridgewood | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.9% | 14.3% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.3% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
7.5 miles of trail wind through 10 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Saddle River County Park, at 68 acres. Ridgewood’s density of trails comes in at 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Ridgewood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.7% | 11% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grove Park | 1 mi | 33 |
| 2. Saddle River County Park - Wild Duck Pond | 0.3 mi | 24 |
| 3. Saddle River County Park | 0.1 mi | 68 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Violent crime is rare: 9 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
Ridgewood’s rate of thefts and burglaries stands at 4.8 per 1,000 residents. The level of violent crime here is 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Ridgewood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
345 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 33 properties have flooded more than once.
Paid flood insurance claims in Ridgewood since 1981: 345. FEMA expects more storm and flood damage here than in three quarters of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Ridgewood break down as 84% from inland flooding and 5% from earthquakes. Federal aid has come to Ridgewood households in 11 declared disasters; the latest was in 2021.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A winter brings about 33 inches of snow, with January nights at 22° and July afternoons at 86°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ridgewood has about as many jobs (12,029) as working residents, but only 913 people both live and work here. 32.1% of workers work from home, against 16.8% across New Jersey.
For most workers, Ridgewood is a place to come home to: only 9% work in town. Nearly a third of workers do their job from home here. Since 2013, Ridgewood has added 918 jobs, to 12,029 in 2023. The average commute for Ridgewood comes to 35 minutes.
| Ridgewood | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 32% | 16% | 11% |
| Median household income | $208,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.2% | 6.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
53 within 15 miles of the center of Ridgewood
About 6 of every 100 Ridgewood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Jersey.
13 places in Ridgewood on the National Register of Historic Places.
34 notable people were born in Ridgewood.
Village in Bergen County, New Jersey, US
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the village's population was 25,979, an increase of 1,021 (+4.1%) from the 2010 census count of 24,958, which in turn reflected an increase of 22 (+0.1%) from 24,936 in the 2000 census. It has been one of the state's highest-income communities. In 2000, its per capita income of $51,658 was ranked the 35th-highest in the state. Based on data from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey, it had a per-capita income of $67,560, 31st in the state. Based on d…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Ridgewood.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgewood | #42 | A+ | D− | A− | A | A+ |
| Ho-Ho-Kus | #31 | A+ | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| Paramus | #293 | B− | D− | C− | B+ | A |
| Glen Rock | #32 | A+ | D | A− | A | A+ |
| Washington Township | #82 | A | D | — | A− | A+ |
| Waldwick | #22 | A+ | D | A+ | B+ | A+ |
| Midland Park | #37 | A+ | D | A | A− | A+ |
| Wyckoff Township | #74 | A | D− | — | A− | A+ |
Ho-Ho-Kus, Washington Township and Wyckoff Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ridgewood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Ridgewood grades A+ overall, better than 95% of U.S. towns and #42 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
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−.
34 notable people were born here, including Brian Williams and Frankie Jonas.
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