Best Places to Live

Money's list of America's best small towns

26 of 100

26. Ridgewood, NJ

Vote for this town as fan favorite: Thanks for liking one of Money's Best Places to Live. Now take charge of your financial life: Like Money magazine on Facebook for analysis and advice you can trust. WINNER Top 100 rank: 26 Population: 24,500 Compare Ridgewood to Top 10 Best Places This Bergen County town has a relatively strong economy and many affluent residents. Lots of them work in Manhattan’s financial sector (it’s a relatively easy commute to the city by rail). Ridgewood’s school district is a big draw: It’s one of the highest ranking in the state. Its downtown features specialty shops and more than 50 restaurants catering to every palate. And it’s dotted with buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. --N.D. Subscribe to Money Magazine Fan Favorite Towns It's your turn to choose. Which town should be No. 1? Fan Favorite Foods Share your town's specialty and pick your top dish.

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WINNER

Top 100 rank: 26
Population: 24,500
Compare Ridgewood to Top 10 Best Places

This Bergen County town has a relatively strong economy and many affluent residents. Lots of them work in Manhattan’s financial sector (it’s a relatively easy commute to the city by rail). Ridgewood’s school district is a big draw: It’s one of the highest ranking in the state. Its downtown features specialty shops and more than 50 restaurants catering to every palate. And it’s dotted with buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. --N.D.

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Ridgewood stats

	City stats	Best places avg.
Median family income (per year)	$157,935	$99,975
Job growth % (2000-2010)*	0.17%	24.63%
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Median home price	$675,000	$265,929
See Ridgewood homes for sale
Test scores reading (% above/below state average)	42.5%	25.1%
Test scores math (% above/below average)	36.5%	24.7%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)	0	1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)	8	16
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	11,716	2,758
High temp in July ° F	85.5°	84.1°
Low temp in Jan ° F	19.5°	20.9°
Median age	39.9	36.35

Financial	City stats	Best places avg.
Median family income (per year)	$157,935	$99,975
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)	$131,284	$95,706
State sales tax	7.00%	5.75%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	8.97%^I	7.37%
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	1.40%^I	3.13%
Auto insurance premiums (Average price quotes, for the state)	$2,617	$1,687
Job growth % (2000-2010)*	0.17%	24.63%
See jobs near Ridgewood
Housing
Median home price	$675,000	$265,929
Average property taxes	N.A.	$4,083
See Ridgewood homes for sale
Education
Colleges, universities and professional schools (within 30 miles)	124	28
Test scores reading (% above/below state average)	42.5%	25.1%
Test scores math (% above/below average)	36.5%	24.7%
% students attending public/private schools (located within town limits)	98.3/1.7	92.1/7.9
Quality of life
Air quality index* (% of days AQI ranked as good)	65.0%	78.5%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)	0	1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)	8	16
Median commute time (in minutes)	26.5	23.3
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer	34.3%	15.4%
% population walk or bike to work	2.9%	2.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters (within 15 miles)	140	30
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	11,716	2,758
Bars (within 15 miles)	675	208
Public golf courses (within 30 miles)	355	165
Libraries (within 15 miles)	277	74
Museums (accredited by AAM; within 30 miles)	32	10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles)	43	16
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)	2.0	1.2
Weather
Annual rainfall (inches)	51.5	39.07
% clear days in the area	29	27
High temp in July ° F	85.5°	84.1°
Low temp in Jan ° F	19.5°	20.9°
Meet the neighbors
Median age	39.9	36.35
Completed at least some college (% of residents)	85.8%	74.5%
Married %	66.2%	61.5%
Divorced %	4.0%	7.6%
Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)	77.7	71.0

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More financial, housing, school, quality of life stats

From the September 2011 issue

Notes: *County data

(I) Income tax notes:
The New Jersey rates reported are for single individuals. For married couples filing jointly, the tax rates also range from 1.4% to 8.97%, with 7 brackets and the same high and low income ranges.

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Homes for sale
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Fan Favorite Food

We asked readers to share their favorite hometown dishes. Now it’s time for you to choose: The most popular dish will be named Fan Favorite!

Hometown dish	Town
1. Low Cal Tex Mex	Seguin, TX
2. Chile Relleno	Seguin, TX
3. Super Bowl Breakfast	Jamestown, CA,
4. Texas BBQ	Luling, TX
5. Shrimp 'n Grits to die for!	Raleigh, NC

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Fan Favorite Towns

Money picked the top 100. Now it's your turn: Which town will be our fan favorite? 'Like' your town and it might just make it to No. 1.

Town	# of Likes
1. Saratoga Springs, NY	407
2. Glen Ellyn, IL	202
3. Castle Rock, CO	199
4. Mason, OH	181
5. Oswego, IL	172

See the rest

Find Your Best Places

How we picked the Best Places

Using statistics from data services company Onboard Informatics, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small towns for families. (Last year, we looked at small cities, with populations between 50,000 and 300,000.) More

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Best Places to Live

Money's list of America's best small towns