In addition, Ridgewood is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.
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.
One downside of living in Ridgewood, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.41 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
Like elsewhere in America, most people in Ridgewood use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Ridgewood‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the train. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.
Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to Ridgewood, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. Ridgewood is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 80.61% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.
The per capita income in Ridgewood in 2022 was $98,259, which is wealthy relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $393,036 for a family of four.
Ridgewood is an extremely 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. Ridgewood also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.20% of the village’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Ridgewood include Irish, Italian, German, English, and Polish.
Foreign born people are also an important part of Ridgewood's cultural character, accounting for 21.44% of the village’s population.
The most common language spoken in Ridgewood is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Korean.
