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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Rhode Island does this very well. Families love the Ocean State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Rhode Island that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Rhode Island for 2021.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Rhode Island? That would be Narragansett Pier.
the 2015-2019 American Community Survey for the 23 places in Rhode Island with more than 1,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Rhode Island for 2021:
What's the most expensive place to live in Rhode Island? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Narragansett Pier is the most expensive place to live in Rhode Island.
So hopefully Pascoag (the cheapest place to live in Rhode Island) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Rhode Island and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Rhode Island For 2021
/10
Population: 3,594
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 9.2x (most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 44.3x (4th most expensive)
More on Narragansett Pier: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Narragansett Pier comes in at $58,875 and the median home value is $542,200 for 2021.
/10
Population: 24,663
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.7x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 54.3x (8th most expensive)
More on Newport: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Newport comes in at $67,102 and the median home value is $448,800 for 2021.
/10
Population: 11,925
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 5.2x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 53.3x (7th most expensive)
More on Newport East: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Newport East comes in at $69,368 and the median home value is $361,100 for 2021.
/10
Population: 17,553
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 67.0x (13th most expensive)
More on Westerly: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Westerly comes in at $66,909 and the median home value is $294,600 for 2021.
/10
Population: 1,460
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 6.1x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 38.9x (3rd most expensive)
More on Harrisville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Harrisville comes in at $29,663 and the median home value is $180,300 for 2021.
/10
Population: 9,504
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.1x (8th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 73.1x (18th most expensive)
More on Wakefield-Peacedale: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Wakefield-Peacedale comes in at $82,692 and the median home value is $336,900 for 2021.
/10
Population: 19,429
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.8x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 38.7x (2nd most expensive)
More on Central Falls: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Central Falls comes in at $32,982 and the median home value is $159,100 for 2021.
/10
Population: 179,494
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.4x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 45.9x (5th most expensive)
More on Providence: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Providence comes in at $45,610 and the median home value is $200,300 for 2021.
/10
Population: 1,823
Rank Last Year: 17 (Up 7)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.2x (16th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 58.1x (10th most expensive)
More on Hope Valley: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Hope Valley comes in at $79,931 and the median home value is $254,600 for 2021.
/10
Population: 7,804
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 3)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.8x (11th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 72.5x (17th most expensive)
More on Tiverton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Tiverton comes in at $68,102 and the median home value is $258,800 for 2021.
How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The Ocean State For 2021
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2015-2019 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Rhode Island to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 23 places in Rhode Island that have more than 1,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Rhode Island according to the data is Narragansett Pier. You can download the data here.
Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Rhode Island For 2021
Well there you have it, the places in Rhode Island that have the highest cost of living, with Narragansett Pier ranking as the most expensive city in the Ocean State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Rhode Island according to the data:
- Pascoag
- Valley Falls
- Cumberland Hill
For more Rhode Island reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Rhode Island
- Cheapest Places To Live In Rhode Island
- Most Dangerous Cities In Rhode Island
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Rhode Island
- Safest Places In Rhode Island
- Worst Places To Live In Rhode Island
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Rhode Island
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Narragansett Pier | 2.0 |
| 2 | Newport | 4.0 |
| 3 | Newport East | 4.67 |
| 4 | Westerly | 8.33 |
| 5 | Harrisville | 9.33 |
| 6 | Wakefield-Peacedale | 10.33 |
| 7 | Central Falls | 10.33 |
| 8 | Providence | 10.67 |
| 9 | Hope Valley | 12.33 |
| 10 | Tiverton | 12.67 |
| 11 | Woonsocket | 12.67 |
| 12 | Greenville | 12.67 |
| 13 | Kingston | 12.67 |
| 14 | Pawtucket | 13.33 |
| 15 | Cranston | 13.67 |
| 16 | East Providence | 13.83 |
| 17 | Warwick | 15.67 |
| 18 | Harmony | 16.0 |
| 19 | Bradford | 16.0 |
| 20 | Chepachet | 16.67 |
| 21 | Cumberland Hill | 18.0 |
| 22 | Valley Falls | 19.67 |
| 23 | Pascoag | 21.17 |
