Ringwood, New Jersey

Area Profile

11,657 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Ringwood, in Passaic County.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 34% of 2,944 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 24% of 3,904 cities measured69
SchoolsTop 33% of 2,668 cities measured65
Growth1708th of 2,973 cities measured46
Housing affordabilityTop 8% of 4,223 cities measured100
Climate2724th of 4,223 cities measured65
Physical resilience2986th of 4,182 cities measured36
Access2885th of 4,226 cities measured86
Economic stabilityTop 1% of 4,226 cities measured87
The quick read

Ringwood ranks in the top 24% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.9% and median household income of $152,414.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles: rent takes 14% of median household income and the median home is 3.0 times it.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, earthquake and hurricane.

At a glance

Population
11,657
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$152,414
Top 5% nationally
Density
456/sq mi
25.6 sq mi of land
Median age
42.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Passaic County
New Jersey
Metro area
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Nearest major airport
EWR
29 mi · Newark Liberty Intl
Median home value
$449,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.9% is lower than 28% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment grew 1.6% over the past year, to 261,567 employed residents.

53% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 90% of measured US cities.

Household income is higher than at least 95% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$14,251$152,414Top 5%of 29,5732024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$6,280$64,461Top 8%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate2.5%Bottom 13%of 31,9002024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute34.8 minTop 17%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher52.5%Top 10%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Employment261,567Top 25%of 3,904June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.8%Top 38%of 3,903June 2026
Employment change (year over year)1.6%Top 7%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force275,096Top 25%of 3,904June 2026
Labor force participation72.2%Top 13%of 31,9332024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$86,310Top 17%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Median annual wage$61,430Top 19%of 3,6582025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-1.3%Bottom 2%of 3,904June 2026
Unemployment rate4.9%Top 28%of 3,904June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024152k131k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $152,414 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides644,700$39,680
Retail Salespersons202,080$38,280
Registered Nurses197,740$119,720
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners183,030$42,840
General and Operations Managers177,850$157,000
Cashiers173,830$35,950

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Passaic County, NJ, which contains this city.

26% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 46% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 10.9 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
10.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
26.3%
Top 39% in New Jersey
Reading proficiency
46.0%
Top 47% in New Jersey
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Martin J. Ryerson SchoolRingwood School District34511.927%57%
Peter Cooper SchoolRingwood School District23511.235%45%
Eleanor G. HewittRingwood School District2089.917%47%
Robert Erskine SchoolRingwood School District1699.925%25%

11.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against New Jersey’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% above the national average, on the Bureau of Economic Analysis index. Housing drives most of that difference.

Median rent of $1,750 takes 14% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.0 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
112.6

Prices here run about 13% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Rent as a share of income
13.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,750
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$449,800
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index112.6Top 16%of 3,6582023
Home price to income2.95Top 49%of 28,4732024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate96.2%Top 12%of 31,8432024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1594,252Top 13%of 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$1,271$1,750Top 14%of 23,4322024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$18,496$449,800Top 14%of 29,3422024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income13.8%Bottom 17%of 23,2012024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate1.6%Bottom 14%of 32,0012024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
46/ 100
Ranks 1708 of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing — 2 consecutive years, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 11,762 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
20
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.7
Bottom 42% nationally
Year over year
−13%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202412k12k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420252413
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+77%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.9 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 38, in the Good band, and about 2 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CALDWELL ESSEX CO AP, 15.7 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index61.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation44.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10022024 calendar year
Median air quality index38.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing45°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
38
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
2
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

36 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and hurricane.

Inland floodingElevated
LightningModerate
EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneModerate
LandslideModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, winter weather, heat wave, cold wave, tornado, ice storm, coastal flooding, wildfire, hail, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
42
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
195
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offences, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Ringwood's police department reported 42 violent offences per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 195.

Passaic County records 3.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 4.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 16.4 per 100,000 residents in Passaic County.

Homicide
3.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
4.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
16.4
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
5.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Offences are reported to the FBI by Ringwood’s own police department, for the population it serves, and are shown only where it reported every month of the year — a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime counts what was reported to and recorded by police, which is not the same as what happened, and a place that draws a large daytime workforce carries incidents its residents did not generate. Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Passaic County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Ringwood rather than Ringwood itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Taxes
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 29 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Newark Liberty IntlEWR29 mi9,999 ft
New York Stewart IntlSWF29 mi11,817 ft
John F Kennedy IntlJFK41 mi14,511 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
65
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Other cities in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
New YorkNew York County8,483,84464vs Ringwood
NewarkEssex County310,17849vs Ringwood
Jersey CityHudson County294,07861vs Ringwood
YonkersWestchester County209,97862vs Ringwood
PatersonPassaic County158,73543vs Ringwood
ElizabethUnion County137,30253vs Ringwood
Toms RiverOcean County94,956vs Ringwood
CliftonPassaic County89,37961vs Ringwood
New RochelleWestchester County82,76966vs Ringwood
Mount VernonWestchester County72,42756vs Ringwood
BayonneHudson County71,55354vs Ringwood
East OrangeEssex County70,09050vs Ringwood

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
safetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar yearAnnually, with monthly revisions
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023Annually, each December
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Ringwood

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
0745611,657$152,41465