You’ve seen these lists before. Best places to live in Rhode Island. Best suburbs in Rhode Island. Best counties in Rhode Island.
Etc., etc., etc.
But they all focus on major cities and towns in the Ocean State, and no one pays attention to the little guy.
Well, that’s all about to change as we put together a list of the superb small towns in Rhode Island based on numbers–not opinions or hearsay.
We’ll dive right into our methodology in the next section, but first, we thought you might want to know which places in Rhode Island ranked the best based on Saturday Night Science.
$120,250 median income · 4.5% unemployment
$140,196 median income · 1.7% unemployment
$103,707 median income · 3.0% unemployment
$102,266 median income · 4.1% unemployment
$82,192 median income · 7.5% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$120,235 median income · 0.0% unemployment
$121,369 median income · 8.8% unemployment
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$101,932 median income · 5.4% unemployment
$92,971 median income · 1.7% unemployment
$62,535 median income · 9.7% unemployment
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
Rhode Island statewide median: 5.8%
On the map
Where Rhode Island’s best small towns are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Coolest Towns In Rhode Island
We threw a lot of criteria at this report to get the best, most complete results of the best small towns in Rhode Island possible.
Using the most recent data from the Census’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Saturday Night Science, this is the criteria we used:
- Population Density (Higher is better)
- Lowest Unemployment Rates
- Housing costs (Higher is better. More demand.)
- Adjusted Median Income (Higher is better)
- Highly Educated Adults (Higher is better)
- Insurance Rates (Higher is better)
- Commute Times (Lower is better)
We looked at places with populations lower than 5,000 people and greater than 1,000, of which there were many – 10 to be exact.
We then ranked each place in each category with scores from 1 to 10, averaged them out, and the lowest scores went to our Best Small Towns in Rhode Island. Top of that list — Bradford.
This is our eleventh time ranking the best small places to live in Rhode Island.
The full plate
Best Small Towns In Rhode Island
Click any column to sort. Search by town name.
| Rank | Town | Population | Median Income | Median Home Value | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradford | 1,511 | $120,250 | $426,342 | 4.5% |
| 2 | Carolina | 1,048 | $140,196 | $489,637 | 1.7% |
| 3 | Ashaway | 1,722 | $103,707 | $424,418 | 3.0% |
| 4 | Melville | 1,631 | $102,266 | $0 | 4.1% |
| 5 | Narragansett Pier | 3,167 | $82,192 | $1,051,534 | 7.5% |
| 6 | Harmony | 1,006 | $120,235 | $421,701 | 0.0% |
| 7 | Pascoag | 4,410 | $121,369 | $450,851 | 8.8% |
| 8 | Hope Valley | 2,297 | $101,932 | $552,756 | 5.4% |
| 9 | Chepachet | 1,923 | $92,971 | $345,118 | 1.7% |
| 10 | Harrisville | 1,767 | $62,535 | $438,499 | 9.7% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 10 Rhode Island towns between 1,000 and 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Science Can Tackle Any Issue, Even Small Ones
We said it once, and we’ll say it again — this list: it’s just science. We did the research, crunched the numbers, and it turns out these small towns in Rhode Island are the best in which to live.
And who can argue with that?
The best small towns in Rhode Island are Bradford, Carolina, Ashaway, Melville, Narragansett Pier, Harmony, Pascoag, Hope Valley, Chepachet, and Harrisville.
