In addition, Riverside is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.
Riverside is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The village’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Riverside’s overall crime rate ranks among the lowest in the country, making it one of the safest places to raise a family.
In Riverside, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.08 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the village is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.
Even though Riverside is a smaller village, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the train for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.
If knowledge is power, Riverside is a pretty powerful place. 63.74% of the adults in Riverside have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.
The per capita income in Riverside in 2022 was $64,469, which is wealthy relative to Illinois and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $257,876 for a family of four.
Riverside is an extremely ethnically-diverse village. The people who call Riverside home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Riverside residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Riverside also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 32.00% of the village’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Riverside include Irish, Italian, German, Polish, and English.
The most common language spoken in Riverside is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Slavic languages.
