Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Rhode Island with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Rhode Island that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Rhode Island at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Hope Valley.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Rhode Island For 2026
The methodology that wen’t into this can be a bit complicated, so we’ll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below.
For more Rhode Island reading:
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Rhode Island
- Best Places To Retire In Rhode Island
- Richest Cities In Rhode Island
The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Rhode Island For 2026
1. Hope Valley
/10
Population: 2,297
Median Home Price: $552,756
Population Change: 7.0%
Home Price Change: -2.0%
More on Hope Valley: Movers
/10
Population: 3,167
Median Home Price: $1,051,533
Population Change: 2.8%
Home Price Change: 2.5%
More on Narragansett Pier: Data | Movers
/10
Population: 4,410
Median Home Price: $450,851
Population Change: 8.1%
Home Price Change: 1.1%
More on Pascoag: Data | Movers
/10
Population: 7,332
Median Home Price: $683,564
Population Change: 5.5%
Home Price Change: 4.2%
More on Kingston: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 8,091
Median Home Price: $546,619
Population Change: -0.7%
Home Price Change: 2.1%
More on Tiverton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 8,648
Median Home Price: $487,043
Population Change: 0.1%
Home Price Change: 1.0%
More on Cumberland Hill: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 8,296
Median Home Price: $536,945
Population Change: -3.4%
Home Price Change: 3.3%
More on Greenville: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 11,069
Median Home Price: $599,570
Population Change: -1.7%
Home Price Change: -5.9%
More on Newport East: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 12,657
Median Home Price: $463,450
Population Change: 2.3%
Home Price Change: 0.2%
More on Valley Falls: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers
/10
Population: 18,411
Median Home Price: $623,538
Population Change: -0.6%
Home Price Change: 4.2%
More on Westerly: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Rhode Island for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for another 11. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Rhode Island. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Rhode Island with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Rhode Island with the following caveats:
- Home prices had to be within 20% of the state average (Much lower than that, and you get to some of the more dangerous places)
- Home prices increased in the last year, and
- Above 5,000 people (Bigger cities have more data points)
So of the 0 cities and towns in Rhode Island, only 18 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 18 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Hope Valley is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Ocean State.
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Rhode Island for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Rhode Island. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Rhode Island are Hope Valley, Narragansett Pier, Pascoag, Kingston, Tiverton, Cumberland Hill, Greenville, Newport East, Valley Falls, and Westerly.
So if we’d could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
For more Rhode Island reading, check out:
Best Places To Buy A Home In Rhode Island
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hope Valley | 2,297 | $552,756 | 7.0% | -2.0% |
| 2 | Narragansett Pier | 3,167 | $1,051,533 | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| 3 | Pascoag | 4,410 | $450,851 | 8.1% | 1.1% |
| 4 | Kingston | 7,332 | $683,564 | 5.5% | 4.2% |
| 5 | Tiverton | 8,091 | $546,619 | -0.7% | 2.1% |
| 6 | Cumberland Hill | 8,648 | $487,043 | 0.1% | 1.0% |
| 7 | Greenville | 8,296 | $536,945 | -3.4% | 3.3% |
| 8 | Newport East | 11,069 | $599,570 | -1.7% | -5.9% |
| 9 | Valley Falls | 12,657 | $463,450 | 2.3% | 0.2% |
| 10 | Westerly | 18,411 | $623,538 | -0.6% | 4.2% |
| 11 | Central Falls | 22,701 | $377,288 | 1.0% | 0.4% |
| 12 | Newport | 24,874 | $938,853 | -0.6% | 4.6% |
| 13 | Woonsocket | 43,521 | $380,892 | 1.0% | -0.5% |
| 14 | East Providence | 47,281 | $439,965 | 0.7% | 2.2% |
| 15 | Pawtucket | 75,893 | $391,766 | 0.8% | -0.0% |
| 16 | Warwick | 83,175 | $414,086 | 0.4% | 1.9% |
| 17 | Cranston | 83,250 | $446,693 | 0.7% | 3.1% |
| 18 | Providence | 191,767 | $426,006 | 0.8% | 1.1% |