Northeast · Updated October 2026
Rhode Island in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$1,911/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
27.5%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
5.99%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
1.07%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
100.6
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
16th
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Rhode Island stands out: the 4th lowest violent crime and the 6th lowest natural-disaster risk among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the 10th heaviest state and local tax bill and the 6th biggest rent-to-income bite.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 9.1% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 10th highest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Providence (Providence T F Green Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 41°F | 24°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 58°F | 40°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 81°F | 63°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 64°F | 46°F |
$1,879/mo two-bedroom · $1,509 one-bedroom (Providence-Fall River, RI-MA HUD Metro FMR Area)
Providence is a compact, walkable New England city with a serious art and design presence, excellent food and cheap housing relative to Boston an hour away. Historic architecture, cold winters, and a small-city scale.
$2,507/mo two-bedroom · $1,916 one-bedroom (Newport-Middleton-Portsmouth, RI HUD Metro FMR Area)
Newport is a historic sailing town of Gilded Age mansions and cliff walks, packed in summer and quiet in winter. Expensive housing, a naval station, and an economy built on tourism and the sea.
$1,879/mo two-bedroom · $1,509 one-bedroom (Providence-Fall River, RI-MA HUD Metro FMR Area)
Warwick is Rhode Island's suburban second city, with the state airport, a long shoreline and affordable housing. Practical rather than picturesque, and central to everything in a small state.
$1,879/mo two-bedroom · $1,509 one-bedroom (Providence-Fall River, RI-MA HUD Metro FMR Area)
Woonsocket is a former mill city on the Blackstone River with French-Canadian roots, very low housing costs and CVS's headquarters nearby. Working-class, compact, and close to both Providence and Boston.
$1,832/mo two-bedroom · $1,400 one-bedroom (Westerly-Hopkinton-New Shoreham, RI HUD Metro FMR Area)
Westerly is a coastal town in Rhode Island's southwest corner, with Watch Hill's beaches and a train station on the Northeast Corridor. Beautiful in summer, pricey near the water, quiet in winter.
$1,879/mo two-bedroom · $1,509 one-bedroom (Providence-Fall River, RI-MA HUD Metro FMR Area)
Bristol is a historic harbour town on Narragansett Bay, famous for the country's oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration. Charming, walkable and near Providence; coastal flood risk is real.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Rhode Island’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 5.99% (Rhode Island tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 9.1% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $1,911 a month and a one-bedroom for about $1,528, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $152 more than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 100.6 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 126.4 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 27.5% of the state’s median household income of $83,504.
Rhode Island recorded 153.6 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 4th lowest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are hurricanes and flooding. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rhode Island’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 16th percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Providence, Newport, Warwick, Woonsocket and Westerly. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.