Out of 566 municipalities statewide, Ridgefield Park is only one of four villages in New Jersey, joining Loch Arbour, Ridgewood and South Orange.
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,873 people, 5,012 households, and 3,242 families residing in the village. The population density was 7,435.7 people per square mile (2,873.0/km²). There were 5,134 housing units at an average density of 1, 145.8/km² (2,965.5/sq mi). The racial makeup of the village was 78.20% White, 4.10% African American, 0.22% Native American, 7.85% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 6.50% from other races, and 3.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.24% of the population.
There were 5,012 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the village the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $51,825, and the median income for a family was $62,414. Males had a median income of $44,507 versus $35,217 for females. The per capita income for the village was $24,290. About 4.7% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
New Jersey Transit bus routes 155, 157, 161, 165, 167 and 168 provide service between Ridgefield Park and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, and the 83 route provides service to Hackensack and the Journal Square Transportation Center in Jersey City.
Interstate 80, Interstate 95, and U.S. Route 46 pass through Ridgefield Park, where a 12-screen movie theater owned by AMC as well as numerous businesses such as Samsung are located.