Kingston, Hope Valley, Cumberland Hill: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in Rhode Island. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Ocean State.
Kingston in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $107,404 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 1.8%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Rhode Island share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey for the 18 places in Rhode Island with more than 2,000 people.
$107,404 median income · 1.8% poverty · #3 income in Rhode Island
Located in
Washington County, Rhode Island
Kingston is a village and a census-designated place in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the main campus of the University of Rhode Island. Much of the village center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Kingston Village Historic District.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$101,932 median income · 9.2% poverty · #4 income in Rhode Island
$130,506 median income · 4.7% poverty · #1 income in Rhode Island
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$95,207 median income · 5.7% poverty · #7 income in Rhode Island
Located in
Washington County, Rhode Island
Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, United States founded in 1669 by John Babcock. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state. The population was 22,787 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$99,158 median income · 4.4% poverty · #5 income in Rhode Island
Located in
Newport County, Rhode Island
Tiverton is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 15,780 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$121,369 median income · 11.4% poverty · #2 income in Rhode Island
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$86,313 median income · 16.5% poverty · #12 income in Rhode Island
Located in
Newport County, Rhode Island
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The City of Newport is located approximately 37 miles southeast of Providence, 21 miles south of Fall River, and 74 miles south of Boston. It is known as a New England summer resort and is famous for its mansions. It is also the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport, which houses the United States Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and a major United States Navy training center. It was a major 18th-century port city and also contains a high number of surviving buildings from the colonial era of the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$97,234 median income · 4.8% poverty · #6 income in Rhode Island
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$82,192 median income · 13.6% poverty · #13 income in Rhode Island
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$89,028 median income · 11.7% poverty · #10 income in Rhode Island
Located in
Newport County, Rhode Island
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
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: 11.2%
Rhode Island statewide median: 5.8%
On the map
Where the money lives in Rhode Island
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the richest places in Rhode Island for 2026
The first thing most people reach for is personal income. After all, rich people have really high salaries. But one statistic doesn’t capture what it means to be one of the “richest places,” so we applied Saturday Night Science to two measures from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Median household income
- Median home value
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place is, and home values are a measure of accumulated wealth. The two combine to define a “Rich City.”
After collecting the data for all 18 places in Rhode Island with more than 2,000 people, we ranked each place from 1 to 18 on both criteria, then averaged the two ranks into a “Rich Score.” The place with the lowest Rich Score, Kingston, is crowned the richest city in Rhode Island for 2026.
The full plate
All 18 richest cities in Rhode Island, ranked
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Rich Score | Population | Median income | Median home value | Poverty | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kingston | 3.00 | 7,332 | $107,404 | $683,565 | 1.8% | 8.4% |
| 2 | Hope Valley | 5.00 | 2,297 | $101,932 | $552,756 | 9.2% | 5.4% |
| 3 | Cumberland Hill | 5.00 | 8,648 | $130,506 | $487,043 | 4.7% | 2.4% |
| 4 | Westerly | 5.50 | 18,411 | $95,207 | $623,538 | 5.7% | 2.9% |
| 5 | Tiverton | 6.00 | 8,091 | $99,158 | $546,620 | 4.4% | 2.4% |
| 6 | Pascoag | 6.50 | 4,410 | $121,369 | $450,851 | 11.4% | 8.8% |
| 7 | Newport | 7.00 | 24,874 | $86,313 | $938,854 | 16.5% | 9.0% |
| 8 | Greenville | 7.00 | 8,296 | $97,234 | $536,946 | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| 9 | Narragansett Pier | 7.00 | 3,167 | $82,192 | $1,051,534 | 13.6% | 7.5% |
| 10 | Newport East | 7.50 | 11,069 | $89,028 | $599,571 | 11.7% | 7.4% |
| 11 | Valley Falls | 9.00 | 12,657 | $92,901 | $463,451 | 4.1% | 3.4% |
| 12 | Cranston | 10.50 | 83,250 | $90,206 | $446,694 | 10.2% | 6.1% |
| 13 | Warwick | 13.00 | 83,175 | $88,708 | $414,087 | 7.6% | 5.1% |
| 14 | East Providence | 13.50 | 47,281 | $75,912 | $439,966 | 10.1% | 5.5% |
| 15 | Providence | 15.00 | 191,767 | $68,119 | $426,007 | 20.7% | 8.2% |
| 16 | Pawtucket | 15.50 | 75,893 | $68,310 | $391,766 | 13.3% | 7.3% |
| 17 | Woonsocket | 17.00 | 43,521 | $61,059 | $380,892 | 18.7% | 6.8% |
| 18 | Central Falls | 18.00 | 22,701 | $49,285 | $377,289 | 24.6% | 7.9% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, Zillow research. 18 cities with more than 2,000 residents.
Kingston is the richest place in Rhode Island for 2026
When we set out to identify the richest places in Rhode Island, we weren’t sure what we’d find, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in the state. The richest cities in Rhode Island are Kingston, Hope Valley, and Cumberland Hill, and when you look at the data they sit at the very top of the income ladder for everyone who lives there.
Breaking into the top ten takes a median household income of at least $82,192. If you’re curious about the other end of the ledger, the poorest places are listed to the right.
