Rhode Island brings to mind images of Providence, beautiful landscapes, and some of the best people you’ll find in the good ole US of A.
However, like all states, Rhode Island has certain places that are going on hard times. These places have an above average percent of people that are living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
With all the talk about income inequality going on around the country, we thought it prudent to take a look at the places in each state that are struggling to make it even as the economy continues to improve. So we set our sites on bringing attention to the places in Rhode Island that could use a helping hand.
To do so, we analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 18 places in Rhode Island with more than 3,000 people.
We were left with this set of the ten poorest places in the Ocean State for 2018:
- Central Falls (Photos)
- Providence (Photos)
- Pawtucket (Photos)
- Woonsocket (Photos)
- Pascoag (Photos)
- Kingston (Photos)
- East Providence (Photos)
- Wakefield-Peacedale (Photos)
- Newport (Photos)
- Westerly (Photos)
Again, this isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
And according to the facts, Central Falls is the poorest place in Rhode Island for 2018.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the richest places in Rhode Island or the most dangerous.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.
How We Determined The Poorest Places In Rhode Island For 2018
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the ‘poorest places’. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2012-2016 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income adjusted for the cost of living
- Unemployment Rate
The ‘median household income adjusted for the cost of living’ attempts to gauge how expensive it is to live in a place and how that impacts the quality of life. For example, a town might have fewer people living below the official poverty line, but the cost of living is so high they’d still feel poor.
The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for improvement in the city or town. If more people are employed, the brighter the future looks and vice versa.
After we collected the data for all 18 places with more than 3,000 people in Rhode Island, we ranked each place from 1 to 18 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a ‘Poor Score’ with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Central Falls, crowned the ‘Poorest Place In Rhode Island For 2018’.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 18 places.
1. Central Falls
Population: 19,366Median Income: $28,901
Unemployment Rate: 10.4%
Poverty Rate: 32.7%
More on Central Falls: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
Central Falls, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Rhode Island thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 19,366 people averages the 1st lowest median household income in Rhode Island and the 1st highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Providence
Population: 178,851Median Income: $37,366
Unemployment Rate: 11.0%
Poverty Rate: 28.2%
More on Providence: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
The second poorest city in Rhode Island is Providence.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 3rd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 2nd highest in the Ocean State.
User comment that mentions Providence: Your stats on foster are way yyyyyyyyyyy off. I am a resident and a researcher with commercial and residential properties in Providence and cranston and I can show you worse with verifiable and more credible statistics.
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3. Pawtucket
Population: 71,389Median Income: $44,120
Unemployment Rate: 11.6%
Poverty Rate: 19.9%
More on Pawtucket: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
Placing as the third poorest city, Pawtucket’s median income ranks as the 4th lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 19.9% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Ocean State.
User comment that mentions Pawtucket: Wow I live in burrillville what you have wrote is I bunch of crap… Spend the day here.. Meet the people..crime lmao the crime is 9times out of 10 from people from other coming to out town.. This is total bull…… Go to Pawtucket. prov. Central falls… You took the smallest towns in Rhode Island towns where people keep to themselves and help everyone else when they need it and you drag them through the mud….. Foster really– Wanna know what I think I think you guys are scumbags city slickers stay the hell out of our lil towns If it offends you if it offend you we don’t need people like you to bring in city people and make our quiet town over populated with city rats…
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4. Woonsocket
Population: 41,272Median Income: $37,235
Unemployment Rate: 7.5%
Poverty Rate: 25.1%
More on Woonsocket: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
Woonsocket ranks as the fourth poorest place in Rhode Island.
The town ranks as having the 2nd lowest median household income and the 3rd highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Pascoag
Population: 4,915Median Income: $53,191
Unemployment Rate: 8.5%
Poverty Rate: 13.6%
More on Pascoag: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
The fifth poorest city in Rhode Island is Pascoag.
The city ranks as having the 6th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 8th highest in Rhode Island.
Still not the best news for Pascoag.
6. Kingston
Population: 6,891 Median Income: $76,250
Unemployment Rate: 9.4%
Poverty Rate: 24.6%
More on Kingston: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
Kingston ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Ocean State.
It ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty and the 4th highest unemployment rate.
7. East Providence
Population: 47,260Median Income: $52,550
Unemployment Rate: 8.3%
Poverty Rate: 10.8%
More on East Providence: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
East Providence places as the seventh poorest city in Rhode Island.
The city of over 47,260 ranks as having the 11th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Wakefield-Peacedale
Population: 8,904Median Income: $66,711
Unemployment Rate: 9.2%
Poverty Rate: 14.3%
More on Wakefield-Peacedale: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
Wakefield-Peacedale ranks as the eighth poorest city in Rhode Island.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 5th highest in the state.
9. Newport
Population: 24,570Median Income: $59,794
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%
Poverty Rate: 13.3%
More on Newport: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
Newport couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Rhode Island; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Newport ranks as having the 9th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Rhode Island.
10. Westerly
Population: 17,632Median Income: $57,275
Unemployment Rate: 5.7%
Poverty Rate: 12.3%
More on Westerly: Add A Comment | Data | Jobs
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Rhode Island is Westerly.
The city of 17,632 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Ocean State.
User comment that mentions Westerly: Ridiculous. All the rednecks are here in Alabama. I am proud to be from Westerly, which I consider a metropolitan town.
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There You Have It – The Poorest Places In Rhode Island For 2018
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Rhode Island, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Rhode Island.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Rhode Island, according to data:
Richest: Cumberland Hill
2nd Richest: Warwick
3rd Richest: Valley Falls
For more Rhode Island reading , check out:
Detailed List Of The Poorest Cities In Rhode Island
| Rank | City |
|---|---|
| 1 | Central Falls |
| 2 | Providence |
| 3 | Pawtucket |
| 4 | Woonsocket |
| 5 | Pascoag |
| 6 | Kingston |
| 7 | East Providence |
| 8 | Wakefield-Peacedale |
| 9 | Newport |
| 10 | Westerly |
| 11 | Narragansett Pier |
| 12 | Cranston |
| 13 | Newport East |
| 14 | Tiverton |
| 15 | Greenville |
| 16 | Valley Falls |
| 17 | Warwick |
| 18 | Cumberland Hill |
