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.
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 32.89 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 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 78.64% 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 $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.
