Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 16,132, settled in 1890. Public schools that outperform most of Washington.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Ridgefield grades B overall, 92nd of 285 graded towns in Washington. Its schools rank ahead of 84% of Washington towns and residents are healthier than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $670K, 6.9 years of the Portland metro’s $97K median household income. Ridgefield’s typical rent is $2,335 a month, above both Washington’s towns ($1,737 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Ridgefield has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Arndt Prune Dryer and William Henry Shobert House.
Where Ridgefield beats most towns.
4,763 counted in 2010 and 10,319 in 2020; an estimated 16,132 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 55.6% since 2020, after 116.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Ridgefield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 297 in 1910, 10,319 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1940 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ridgefield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi MountainMount St. Helens
20 mi Stadium & arenaModa Center
32 mi WaterfallMultnomah Falls
21 mi Stadium & arenaProvidence Park
19 mi City parkForest Park
20 mi MuseumPittock MansionMount St. Helens: U.S. Forest Service- Pacific Northwest Region, Public domain · Moda Center: Lugnuts, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Multnomah Falls: John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Providence Park: Pdx.rollingthunder, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Forest Park: EncMstr, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pittock Mansion: PittockBack.jpg: Cacophony derivative work: Tiptoety talk, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ridgefield, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Ridgefield.
Ridgefield fares better on crime within Washington than nationally, has less food insecurity than most of Washington and pairs an A− for schools with high home prices.
10 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Abrams Park, 50 acres with 1.7 miles of trail. The density of trails in Ridgefield is 1.4 miles per square mile.
| Ridgefield | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Abrams Park | 1.7 mi | 50 |
| 2. Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge | 0.3 mi | 24 |
| 3. Refuge Park | 0.2 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $670K.
Its public schools are run by the Ridgefield School District. Two of the 6 schools are below, and why each made the list. The largest public high school is Ridgefield High School, with 1,249 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union Ridge ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 708 | – |
| Ridgefield High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,249 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Washington is food insecurity: 6.5% of its 7,260 adults worry about having enough food, against 10.2% statewide. Against the 6,249 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ridgefield’s, it is healthier than 65%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
The share of adults in Ridgefield who had a checkup this year: 68%. On the CDC’s 31 measures, Ridgefield is ahead of Washington on 15 and behind on 4. In Ridgefield, 27% of adults have high blood pressure, and 7.7% have diabetes.
| Ridgefield | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 71% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 31% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.7% | 9.8% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| What stands out | Ridgefield | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.5% | 10.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.2% | 9% |
| More adults with obesity | 34.5% | 30.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Ridgefield’s July high stands at 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate puts Ridgefield at 16,132 residents, up 56% since 2020. Children under 18 are 28% of residents (21% statewide); people 65 and older are 13% of residents (17% statewide). In Ridgefield, the median age is 35.7 years. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 39%, against 40% across Washington.
| Ridgefield | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 28% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 30% | 29% |
| Median age | 35.7 years | 38.6 years | 40.5 years |
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.9 points). Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Ridgefield | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 17.2% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.9% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.7% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.1% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.9% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.7% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.9% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.2% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.2% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.9% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.8% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.9% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Jobs based here grew from 1,794 in 2013 to 4,159.
Ridgefield had 4,159 jobs in 2023, up 2,365 from 2013. Just 8% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Also worth knowing: in Ridgefield, the typical household income is $116,000. The top destinations are Vancouver (27%), Portland (14%) and Seattle (3%).
| Ridgefield | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 22% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $116,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 14 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 84% of Washington’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 11 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
Ridgefield’s level of violent crime comes in at 0.7 per 1,000 residents. The property crime rate for Ridgefield comes to 10.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Ridgefield | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.5 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Of the losses FEMA expects in Ridgefield, 50% come from inland flooding and 35% from earthquakes. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2006.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A typical home in Ridgefield is worth about $670,000, about the same as a year ago, 14% above the Washington typical home. Among households in the town, 82% own their home. A home in Ridgefield typically sold within 49 days of listing.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ridgefield
About 6 of every 100 Ridgefield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
3 places in Ridgefield on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Washington, United States
Ridgefield is a city in northern Clark County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,319 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 16,132 in 2025. Located within the Portland metropolitan area, Ridgefield is notable for the significant Native American history and connection to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It is also the headquarters of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, a primary reserve for migrating waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway, and the home of the Ridgefield High School "Spudders" (reflecting the area's potato-farming heritage).
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Ridgefield grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #92 of 285 in Washington. It grades A− for health, B 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.
2 notable people were born here, including Phil Spencer and W. E. Carty.
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