What’s the best part of Providence? It could be where everyone knows their neighbor. Or it could be where home prices are the highest, meaning it’s where everyone wants to live.
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Providence are the best based on Saturday Night Science.
Whether you live in the sticks or in an apartment building downtown, you want a little pocket that you can call home. And each neighborhood offers different perks and benefits.
Smaller neighborhoods usually have obvious benefits — less crime, a slower pace of life, and a lower cost of living. But not all Providence neighborhoods are created equal. Some are better than others. But which ones?
If you’re thinking of moving to Rhode Island and Providence is on the top of your list, check out the best neighborhoods for 2026.
$128,378 median income · $459,340 median home value
$92,475 median income · $619,683 median home value
$68,504 median income · $219,680 median home value
$89,275 median income · $502,825 median home value
$64,063 median income · $196,250 median home value
$77,826 median income · $302,912 median home value
$49,563 median income · $200,456 median home value
$76,286 median income · $291,880 median home value
$59,559 median income · $239,300 median home value
$49,439 median income · $223,425 median home value
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Rhode Island’s statewide median.
Rhode Island statewide median: $87,796
Rhode Island statewide median: $499,272
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the best Providence, RI neighborhoods in 2026
To rank the best neighborhoods in Providence, we had to determine what criteria define “best” and then apply Saturday Night Science to it.
Using FBI crime, Census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- High incomes
- Low unemployment rates
- Low crime
- High home prices
- High population densities (A proxy for things to do)
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 23 in each category, where 1 was the best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index, the “Best City Neighborhood In Providence.” We’re lookin’ at you, Blackstone.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Providence, Rhode Island has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from best to worst.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best neighborhoods to live in Providence.
The full plate
Table: Best Providence neighborhoods for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackstone | 6,526 | $459,340 | $128,378 |
| 2 | College Hill | 8,697 | $619,683 | $92,475 |
| 3 | Elmhurst | 10,551 | $219,680 | $68,504 |
| 4 | Wayland | 3,252 | $502,825 | $89,275 |
| 5 | Mount Pleasant | 11,438 | $196,250 | $64,063 |
| 6 | Mount Hope | 6,103 | $302,912 | $77,826 |
| 7 | Silverlake | 11,958 | $200,456 | $49,563 |
| 8 | Hope | 3,175 | $291,880 | $76,286 |
| 9 | Valley | 5,127 | $239,300 | $59,559 |
| 10 | South Elmwood | 3,657 | $223,425 | $49,439 |
| 11 | Fox Point | 3,314 | $387,860 | $63,560 |
| 12 | West End | 17,334 | $199,133 | $45,261 |
| 13 | Elmwood | 10,675 | $238,175 | $43,068 |
| 14 | Downtown | 4,377 | $365,950 | $49,838 |
| 15 | Smith Hill | 5,789 | $415,413 | $51,724 |
| 16 | Federal Hill | 7,553 | $352,217 | $52,291 |
| 17 | Reservoir | 2,444 | $216,533 | $57,834 |
| 18 | Wanskuck | 11,315 | $199,460 | $42,194 |
| 19 | Charles | 6,674 | $169,620 | $43,450 |
| 20 | Washington Park | 6,009 | $223,100 | $45,408 |
| 21 | Olneyville | 5,417 | $229,650 | $43,021 |
| 22 | Lower South Providence | 7,030 | $127,667 | $27,440 |
| 23 | Hartford | 6,286 | $181,500 | $38,131 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 23 Providence neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: Putting a bow on our analysis of the best neighborhoods in Providence
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Providence where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.
The best neighborhoods in Providence are Blackstone, College Hill, Elmhurst, Wayland, Mount Pleasant, Mount Hope, Silverlake, Hope, Valley, and South Elmwood.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Providence aren’t all good. Hartford takes the title of the worst neighborhood to live in Providence.
We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below. Not sold on Rhode Island? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Neighborhoods In Providence FAQs
What is the best neighborhood in Providence?
Blackstone is the best neighborhood in Providence for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. College Hill and Elmhurst are next.
What are the best neighborhoods in Providence?
The best neighborhoods in Providence are Blackstone, College Hill, Elmhurst, Wayland, Mount Pleasant, Mount Hope, Silverlake, Hope, Valley, and South Elmwood. We ranked all 23 neighborhoods in the city.
How expensive is Blackstone?
The median household income in Blackstone is $128,378 and the median home costs $459,340. The best blocks in Providence rarely come at a discount.
How do you rank Providence neighborhoods?
Each neighborhood is scored on income, home values, population density, unemployment, and crime, using Census tract data. The neighborhood with the best combined score, Blackstone, takes the top spot.
Which Providence neighborhood ranked last?
Hartford came in last of the 23 neighborhoods we scored. Every city has a bottom of the table; in Providence the numbers put it there.
