Ridgeside is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 446 at the 2020 census and estimated to be 432 in 2018. Ridgeside is an enclave, as it is completely surrounded by the city limits of Chattanooga. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ridgeside's name is derived from its location on the eastern slope (side) of Missionary Ridge. Locally, the city is also known as Shepherd Hills, after the bigger of its two subdivisions, the other being Crescent Park.
History
Ridgeside is rooted in a dairy farm operated by John T. Shepherd in the early 1900s. In 1922, John's son, Paul, began building the "Shepherd Hills" subdivision, which was completed in 1952. Shepherd Hills incorporated as a city with the name "Ridgeside" in 1931, in part to avoid being annexed by rapidly growing Chattanooga.
Police services for the city of Ridgeside is served by the East Ridge Police, although at one time the city had its own police department.
Geography
Ridgeside is located in southwestern Hamilton County at . It is surrounded by the city of Chattanooga and is east of that city's downtown.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.
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2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Ridgeside had a population of 446. The median age was 46.4 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.0 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 153 households in Ridgeside, of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 77.8% were married-couple households, 5.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 15.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 15.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
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| White || 400 || 89.7%
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| Black or African American || 9 || 2.0%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 1 || 0.2%
|-
| Asian || 5 || 1.1%
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| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 6 || 1.3%
|-
| Two or more races || 25 || 5.6%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 20 || 4.5%
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2000 census
As of the census