Ridgewood is a medium-sized village located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 26,194 people and five associated neighborhoods, Ridgewood is the 69th largest community in New Jersey. Ridgewood home prices are not only among the most expensive in New Jersey, but Ridgewood real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Ridgewood is a decidedly white-collar village, with fully 95.33% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Ridgewood is a village of managers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Ridgewood who work in management occupations (25.73%), business and financial occupations (10.15%), and teaching (9.84%). Also of interest is that Ridgewood has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Of important note, Ridgewood is also a village of artists. Ridgewood has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Ridgewood’s character. A relatively large number of people in Ridgewood telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 25.78% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. In addition, Ridgewood is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums. Ridgewood is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The village’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Ridgewood’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country. In Ridgewood, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 32.89 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. Although the majority of commuting trips in the village are by private automobile, Ridgewood is somewhat unusual for a village of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the train helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Ridgewood area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Ridgewood. 78.64% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%. The per capita income in Ridgewood in 2022 was $93,733, which is wealthy relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $374,932 for a family of four. Ridgewood is a very ethnically-diverse village. The people who call Ridgewood home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ridgewood residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Ridgewood include Irish, Italian, German, English, and Polish. Ridgewood also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 19.61%. The most common language spoken in Ridgewood is English. Other important languages spoken here include Korean and Spanish.
