The Best College Towns In Rhode Island For 2026

Rhode Island doesn't get a lot of attention for its colleges, but there are 2 towns in the state with at least one four-year school -- and some of them make great places to spend four years.

We wanted to know which ones are the best college towns. You know the type of place: plenty of students, plenty to do, affordable rent, and safe enough to walk around at night.

So we used Saturday Night Science to rank all 2 of them on the colleges themselves, the town around them, and things to do. Providence came out on top.

The 2 Best College Towns In Rhode Island For 2026

Providence, RI
Newport, RI

Want the bigger picture? See where Rhode Island's towns land among the best college towns in America.

For more reading, check out:

No. 1 college town in Rhode Island

Providence, RI

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR 2 | CC BY 2.0

Colleges	Brown University, Rhode Island College, Providence College
Undergrads	22,947 (12 per 100 residents)
Population	191,767
Median rent	$1,408
Graduation rate	72%
Cost to attend (per year)	$59,124

Find Movers · Crime Report · Cost Of Living

Providence is home to Brown University, Rhode Island College, Providence College. There are 12 undergrads for every 100 residents, the median rent is $1,408 a month, and the average cost to attend is $59,124 a year. It ranks 2nd for crime among the 2 towns we ranked.

No. 2 college town in Rhode Island

Newport, RI

Source: Wikipedia User MVASCO | GFDL

Colleges	Salve Regina University
Undergrads	2,121 (9 per 100 residents)
Population	24,874
Median rent	$1,698
Graduation rate	79%
Cost to attend (per year)	$70,630

Find Movers · Crime Report · Cost Of Living

Newport is home to Salve Regina University. There are 9 undergrads for every 100 residents, the median rent is $1,698 a month, and the average cost to attend is $70,630 a year. It ranks 1st for crime among the 2 towns we ranked.

Saturday Night Science

How we determined the best college towns in Rhode Island

First, we decided that every town on the list had to have at least one four-year college -- a school that grants bachelor's degrees -- and at least 5,000 residents. There are 2 towns in Rhode Island that fit the bill.

Then we ranked every town on these categories:

The town: unemployment rate, median rent, and crime per capita
The colleges: graduation rate, the average cost to attend, and student body diversity
Things to do: bars, museums and libraries per capita, and population density
Students: undergrads as a share of the population
Size: population, since bigger towns have more going on

We ranked each town on every measure, averaged those ranks into a score for each category, and then averaged the categories. The town with the best overall score is the best college town in Rhode Island.

Our data comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (enrollment, graduation rates, cost, and diversity), the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey, the FBI's 2024 crime report. We left out colleges that are online-only or mostly online, since their students don't actually live in town. A handful of towns don't report crime to the FBI, so we gave them the average.

We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the best college towns in Rhode Island.

Summary

There You Have It -- The Best College Towns In Rhode Island

If you're looking for the best college towns in Rhode Island, Providence is where to start.

The best college towns in Rhode Island are Providence, and Newport.

For more college towns, check out the best college towns in America.

Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best college town in Rhode Island for 2026?

Providence is the best college town in Rhode Island for 2026, followed by Newport and .

How did you rank the best college towns in Rhode Island?

We looked at every town in Rhode Island with at least 5,000 residents and a four-year college, then ranked them on city characteristics, college characteristics, things to do, the share of residents who are students, and size. The town with the best average rank is number one.

What is the worst college town in Rhode Island?

Newport ranks last of the 2 college towns we ranked in Rhode Island for 2026.