The U.S. truck market is significant, accounting for about 15% of all new vehicle sales in recent years, but the Honda Ridgeline occupies a unique niche in this segment. It’s the only midsized unibody pickup. There are unibody trucks (Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz) and midsized body-on-frame pickups (like the Toyota Tacoma and Ford Ranger), yet only the Ridgeline brings the two characteristics together. However, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea — Honda sold around 41,000 Ridgelines in 2021, roughly the number of F-Series trucks Ford sold every three weeks that year.

New Ridgelines aren’t necessarily inexpensive compared to other trucks. The cheapest Sport trim starts north of $42,000 in 2026, about $7,000 more than a base Ranger. Budget-conscious buyers may want to consider a secondhand Ridgeline, with the 2021 model year being a sweet spot. It’s still a relatively modern truck with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and offers the benefits of depreciation. CarEdge and iSeeCars estimate the loss of value at about 34% to 37%.

This article explores those numbers to better understand the Ridgeline’s depreciation, including how 2021 model year values compare with more recent models. And because the real world matters, these depreciation estimates are checked against what 2021 Ridgelines are actually selling for on dealers’ lots. Even though the Ridgeline doesn’t have a direct competitor, we’ll also look at depreciation rates for the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, and Ford Ranger for context. All MSRPs mentioned include factory destination charges.

Honda Ridgeline Depreciation

iSeeCars forecasts 5-year depreciation for the 2021 Ridgeline at 37.5%, while CarEdge puts the valuation drop at 34.1%. That 3.4% gap may not seem like much, but on a mid-grade Ridgeline RTL trim that had an MSRP of $40,695, it works out to an almost $1,400 difference. It’s worth noting that the CarEdge estimate is based on current market prices for the 2021 model, not a generalized projected depreciation rate for 5-year-old models — the latter figure is closer to the iSeeCars number.

Looking at other model years, iSeeCars reports the depreciation rate for the 2023 Ridgeline at 25.3%. CarEdge projects a 3-year depreciation rate of 28.7% — a narrower gap than with the 2021 model year. The 2022 Ridgeline’s 31.4% loss in value, per CarEdge, splits the difference between CarEdge’s forecasts for 2021 and 2023. A new, boxier Ridgeline is being teased for 2028, though it remains to be seen how a new-generation model will impact resale values.

Looking at real-world valuations for the 2021 Ridgeline, dealer listings on CarGurus for good-condition examples with average mileage and clean history range between $25,000 and $30,000 depending on trim. Pricing for the RTL grade hovers around $26,000, which calculates to a 5-year depreciation rate of 36.1% based on the original MSRP of $40,695 — a figure that aligns closely with both the iSeeCars and CarEdge estimates.

Honda Ridgeline Depreciation Versus Competitors

While the Ridgeline may not have a direct competitor, looking at depreciation rates for other midsized trucks offers useful context for used pickup buyers. The Toyota Tacoma is an outlier: it ranks among the top vehicles of any type for retained value, according to iSeeCars, translating into a 5-year depreciation rate of about 20% for a 2021 model. Real-world marketplace listings are even more conservative — a lower-trim SR5 Double Cab with a regular bed sells for $32,000 to $34,000, the equivalent of just an 8% to 13.4% depreciation rate from the original MSRP of $36,939.

In a Toyota Tacoma vs. Nissan Frontier comparison, the Nissan takes a much larger depreciation hit. Both iSeeCars and CarEdge estimate a 2021 Frontier drops in value by about 36% over 5 years. Used Crew Cab SV-grade examples that originally carried a $33,440 sticker now mostly sell for $21,000 to $22,000 — a 34.2% to 37.2% drop, which is on target with estimates and similar to the Ridgeline’s depreciation. It’s worth noting that the 2022 model year marked the debut of the current-generation Frontier.

Depreciation for the 2021 Ford Ranger sits between the Tacoma and the Ridgeline, with projected 5-year value declines of 27.7% (CarEdge) to 30% (iSeeCars). The middle-of-the-pack XLT came with a $36,190 window sticker in 2021 and now typically sells in the $25,000 to $26,000 range — a 28.2% to 30.6% depreciation rate, in line with those estimates.

Overall, the 2021 Ridgeline depreciates at a rate broadly comparable to the Nissan Frontier and noticeably more than the Ford Ranger, while neither truck comes close to the Tacoma’s exceptional value retention. For buyers willing to shop used, the Ridgeline’s unique combination of unibody construction, midsized dimensions, and modern safety tech makes it a compelling option at its current market price point.