Ridgewood is a medium-sized village located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 26,701 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 95.55% 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 (23.94%), business and financial occupations (11.23%), and teaching (9.67%). 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 28.63% 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", which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre. Because of many things, Ridgewood is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Ridgewood a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The village’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Ridgewood has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local 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. 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. 80.61% 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 $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. Ridgewood also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 21.44%. The most common language spoken in Ridgewood is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Korean.
