| West Ridge | |
| Official Name: | Community Area 02 - West Ridge |
| Mapsize: | 200px |
| Image Map1: | US-IL-Chicago-CA02.svg |
| Map Caption1: | Location within the city of Chicago |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Illinois |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Cook |
| Subdivision Type3: | City |
| Subdivision Name3: | Chicago |
| Parts Type: | Neighborhoods |
| Parts Style: | list |
| P1: | Arcadia Terrace |
| P2: | Peterson Park |
| P3: | West Rogers Park |
| P4: | Rosehill Cemetery |
| P5: | Nortown |
| P6: | East Ridge |
| P7: | West Ridge |
| P8: | Golden Ghetto |
| P9: | North Lincoln Square |
| P10: | East North Park |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 3.53 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 77,122 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics 2019 [1] |
| Demographics1 Title1: | White |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 40.60% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Black |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 11.6% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Hispanic |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 18.9% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | Asian |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 23.8% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 5.2% |
| Demographics Type2: | Educational Attainment 2019 |
| Demographics2 Title1: | High School Diploma or Higher |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 80.7% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Bachelor's Degree or Higher |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 38.4% |
| Timezone: | CST |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Coordinates: | 42°N -128.4°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Codes |
| Postal Code: | 60645 and parts of 60659 |
| Blank Name: | Median Household income 2019 |
| Blank Info: | $53,877 |
| Footnotes: | Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services |
West Ridge is one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is a middle-class neighborhood located on the far North Side of the City of Chicago. It is located in the 50th ward and the 40th ward.
Today West Ridge is one of Chicago's better off communities, filled with multi-ethnic culture lining Devon Avenue, historic mansions lining Ridge and Lunt Avenues, cultural institutions such as St. Scholastica Academy and one of the highest per capita incomes on the North Side of Chicago.
It is home to the Midwest's largest Hasidic community, as well as other Jewish, Irish American, German-American, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Assyrian, Russian, Korean and Rohingya[2] immigrant communities.
Historically called "North Town", and frequently referred to as "West Rogers Park", it is bordered on the north by Howard Street, on the east by Ridge Boulevard, Western Avenue, and Ravenswood Avenue, the south by Bryn Mawr Avenue and Peterson Avenue, and on the west by Kedzie Avenue and the North Shore channel of the Chicago River. At one time joined with neighboring Rogers Park, it seceded to become its own village in 1890 over a conflict concerning park districts (known as the Cabbage War).[3] West Ridge was annexed to Chicago on April 4, 1893, along with Rogers Park.[4]
The Golden Ghetto is bounded on the north by Warren Park and Pratt Avenue and on the south by Peterson Avenue. It acquired its name from the thriving Jewish community there from about 1930 to the mid-1970s. The Jewish community peaked at over 47,000 in the 1960s.[5] That community began to drift into the suburbs in the 1960s, and the neighborhood began to be home to South Asians and Russian Jews from about that time.
The heyday of the area is the topic of Adam Langer's Crossing California,[6] told from the perspective of the second-generation residents during their middle school and teenage years. There has been a recent resurgence in Jewish residents, up from a nadir of 20,000 to around 25,000 in the late 2010s, due to increased Orthodox residents.[5]
The Rogers Park Manor Bungalow Historic District is a residential historic district in the West Ridge neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The district includes 329 buildings, 247 of which are Chicago bungalows built in the 1920s. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 2005.[7]
The Talman West Ridge Bungalow Historic District is a residential historic district in the West Ridge neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. 181 of the district's 272 buildings are either brick Chicago bungalows or older stucco bungalows built from 1919 to 1930.
West Ridge has supported the Democratic Party in the past three presidential elections, though relative support declined slightly from 2016 to 2020. In the 2020 presidential election, West Ridge cast 17,222 votes for Joe Biden (69.8%) and cast 7,281 votes for Donald Trump (28.9%).[8] In the 2016 presidential election, West Ridge cast 16,712 votes for Hillary Clinton and cast 4,772 votes for Donald Trump, a relatively larger victory of 73.5% to 21.5%.[9] In the 2012 presidential election, West Ridge cast 14,446 votes for Barack Obama and cast 5,345 votes for Mitt Romney.[10]
It had been represented in the Chicago City Council by Alderman Bernard Stone from 1973 until May 2011. On April 5, 2011, Alderman Debra Silverstein defeated Stone in a runoff election[11] and now represents the 50th Ward, which encompasses West Ridge.
Chicago Public Schools operates public schools.
Bus service is operated by Chicago Transit Authority and Pace. Metra rail is accessible at Peterson/Ridge station.
