Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety98#258/15,637
Economy87#2,106/15,631
Housing22#11,660/14,977
Health98#320/15,609
Healthcare93#1,151/15,650
Environment31#10,563/15,453
Education94#945/15,649
Infrastructure93#1,104/15,650
Community86#2,133/15,651
Leisure & amenities90#1,608/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ridgefield, New Jersey ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Bergen County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Depression · low13.2%
100/100New Jersey 15.6%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Dentists · high134 /100k
99/100New Jersey 88 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBergen County value
Reading scores · high3.57
99/100New Jersey 3.22United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBergen County value
Public transit commuters · high15.2%
99/100New Jersey 8.1%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Premature death · low3,958 /100k
99/100New Jersey 6,017 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBergen County value
Suicide rate · low5.3 /100k
99/100New Jersey 8.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataBergen County value

Weaknesses

Average commute time · high31.6 min
7/100New Jersey 30.5 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Effective property tax rate · high1.74%
13/100New Jersey 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Home price to income ratio · high5.5×
15/100New Jersey 4.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Comfortable days · low23.6%
15/100New Jersey 24.9%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationBergen County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high13.1%
22/100New Jersey 9.0%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Job growth · low-0.9%
29/100New Jersey 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataBergen County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Median household incomeImproving
$71,699 (2015-2019) → $118,059 (2020-2024)
+65%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.7% (2015-2019) → 97.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Public transit commutersImproving
6.1% (2015-2019) → 15.2% (2020-2024)
+9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
39.1% (2015-2019) → 46.5% (2020-2024)
+7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
54.6% (2015-2019) → 47.7% (2020-2024)
−6.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
2.4 /1k (2021) → 1.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−29%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Ridgefield, New Jersey improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Household income+65%$71,699 → $118,059
Inequality−0.0770.464 → 0.387
Transit use+9.1 points6.1% → 15.2%
Broadband+11 points86.7% → 97.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Ridgefield, New Jersey between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.6 min2015-2019	31.6 min2020-2024	+4.1 min	Within the margin of error	14%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.1%2015-2019	46.5%2020-2024	+7.3 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Broadband subscriptions	86.7%2015-2019	97.5%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	63%
Effective property tax rate	1.94%2015-2019	1.74%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	58%
High school diploma or higher	92.8%2015-2019	92.2%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Home price to income ratio	6.2×2015-2019	5.5×2020-2024	−0.7×	Within the margin of error	96%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4642015-2019	0.3872020-2024	−0.077	Improved	92%
Median household income	$71,6992015-2019	$118,0592020-2024	+65%	Improved	93%
Poverty rate	8.7%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Public transit commuters	6.1%2015-2019	15.2%2020-2024	+9.1 points	Improved	100%
Rent as share of income	33.6%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Rent-burdened households	54.6%2015-2019	47.7%2020-2024	−6.9 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Unemployment rate	5.7%2015-2019	5.6%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	15.5%2015-2019	13.1%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	72%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Ridgefield, New Jersey five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ridgefield, New Jersey in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Ridgefield, New Jersey itself moved +12.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

11,498 residents (±30)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69
50–59
40–49†
30–39
20–29
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 50–59 men (−4.3 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

11,498 residents (±30)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

White32%3,734
Black1.8%†211
Hispanic or Latino38%4,345

Education

8,471 residents (±360)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

No high school diploma7.8%†661
High school or GED25%2,099
Some college14%1,158

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

4,036 households (±251)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $25k5.7%†229
$25k–50k11%†435
$50k–75k12%†494
$75k–100k13%†539
$100k–150k20%797
$150k–200k15%†604
$200k or more23%938

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+11.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

4,036 households (±251)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Own51%2,075
Rent49%1,961

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

1,942 households (±298)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0003.3%†65
$1,000–1,50015%†287

Home values

2,075 homes (±265)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under $150k2.8%†59
$150k–250k1.0%†20
$250k–400k12%†253

Age of homes

4,117 homes (±261)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

2010 or later1.7%†68
2000–20098.0%†329
1980–199910%†431

Size of homes

4,117 homes (±261)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom13%†540
2 bedrooms35%1,440

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

6,144 workers (±444)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Drive alone56%3,460
Carpool11%†684
Public transit15%935
Walk0.8%†47
Bike0.2%†12
Work from home14%877
Other2.1%†129

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−14.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

5,267 workers (±444)

Ridgefield, New Jersey
New Jersey share

Under 15 min13%†695
15–29 min34%1,809
30–44 min27%1,396

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Bergen County, the county holding most of Ridgefield's residents.

Bergen County has 31,818 employer establishments, 330 for every 10,000 residents (1.33× the US rate of 248; 1.30× New Jersey's), with 441,870 paid employees at an average annual pay of $74,257. The Census Bureau also counts 120,489 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 31,818; 120,489 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 330; US 248 · New Jersey 253
Paid employees: 441,870
Average annual pay: $74,257; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Bergen County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	3,434	35.6	1.71×More than typical	39,332	$75,459	7,066
Restaurants and other eating places	2,408	25	1.36×More than typical	28,521	$28,410	769
Specialty trade contractors	1,645	17.1	1.10×About typical	12,758	$78,966	4,471
Lessors of real estate	1,389	14.4	1.17×About typical	8,265	$70,444	18,127
Offices of physicians	1,202	12.5	1.93×More than typical	11,165	$125,686	1,583
Personal care services	1,104	11.5	2.40×More than typical	5,653	$28,119	2,466
Full-service restaurants	1,040	10.8	1.40×More than typical	15,013	$32,341	328
Construction of buildings	997	10.3	1.37×More than typical	4,420	$82,982	3,078
Services to buildings and dwellings	966	10	1.49×More than typical	8,260	$42,523	3,811
Limited-service restaurants	943	9.8	1.22×About typical	9,594	$24,438	291
Offices of other health practitioners	907	9.4	1.55×More than typical	4,566	$50,201	3,718
Management, scientific and technical consulting	897	9.3	1.39×More than typical	4,707	$90,044	5,786

Rank places for an industry Open Bergen County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 964,156 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ridgefield, New Jersey: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

7.3KFY2017
56.7KFY2018
15KFY2020

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Ridgefield, New Jersey, so they do not add up across cities.

Ridgefield, New Jersey's figures are part of those of Bergen County, NJ ($182.4M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ridgefield is mostly in Bergen County.

See federal money in Bergen County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Ridgefield, New Jersey is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).