Do you live in one of the murder capitals of Rhode Island?
We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.
To find the cities in Rhode Island with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the FBI crime data on murders for the 7 cities in the Ocean State with over 8,000 residents.
What city has the highest murder rate in Rhode Island? The city with the highest murder rate in Rhode Island is Hopkinton with 12 murders per 100,000 people.
What is the city in Rhode Island with highest number of murders? The city in Rhode Island with the highest number of murders is Providence with 12 murders.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town in Rhode Island ranked. There were ‘only’ 7 cities in Rhode Island where a city reported a murder to the FBI, meaning 26 places had no murder.
12 per 100k · #1 highest murder rate in Rhode Island
7 per 100k · #2 highest murder rate in Rhode Island
6 per 100k · #3 highest murder rate in Rhode Island
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island in the early 1900s it was the most visited place, founded in 1636 and one of the oldest cities in the United States. It was founded by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of “God’s merciful Providence” which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers to settle. The city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay.
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5 per 100k · #4 highest murder rate in Rhode Island
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
Woonsocket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts state line and constitutes part of both the Providence metropolitan area and the larger Greater Boston Combined Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
4 per 100k · #5 highest murder rate in Rhode Island
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2 per 100k · #6 highest murder rate in Rhode Island
Located in
Kent County, Rhode Island
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1 per 100k · #7 highest murder rate in Rhode Island
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. With a population of 80,529 at the 2010 census, it is the third largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston. Cranston is a part of the Providence metropolitan area.
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.
On the map
Where Rhode Island’s murders happen
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we calculated the murder capitals of Rhode Island
While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we wanted to rely on something other than speculation and opinion. Instead, we used Saturday Night Science to compare the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which summarizes the number of murders in each city annually.
We only looked at every single city in Rhode Island for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 7 cities to rank.
We took the number of murders per capita as the ranking factor. The place with the most murders per capita based on the most recent data is Hopkinton. It is our eleventh time ranking the places with the most murders per capita in Rhode Island. We updated the list for 2026.
The full plate
Murder Rates By City In Rhode Island
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Murders | Murders/100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hopkinton | 8,527 | 1 | 12 |
| 2 | Narragansett | 14,591 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | Providence | 193,679 | 12 | 6 |
| 4 | Woonsocket | 43,776 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Pawtucket | 76,400 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | Warwick | 84,297 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | Cranston | 83,815 | 1 | 1 |
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. 7 Rhode Island cities that reported a murder.
Summary
Summary: The Places With The Most Murders In Rhode Island For 2026
If you’re looking at the places in Rhode Island with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.
The cities with the highest murder per capita in Rhode Island are Hopkinton, Narragansett, Providence, Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Warwick, Cranston. Not sold on Rhode Island? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Deadliest Cities In Rhode Island FAQs
What city in Rhode Island has the highest murder rate?
Hopkinton has the highest murder rate in Rhode Island for 2026, at 12 murders per 100,000 residents. That is based on the latest FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
What is the murder capital of Rhode Island?
Hopkinton is the murder capital of Rhode Island on a per-capita basis. On raw numbers, Providence logged the most murders with 12.
How many cities in Rhode Island reported no murders at all?
26 Rhode Island cities reported zero murders to the FBI in the most recent reporting year. Only 7 cities reported at least one, and those are the ones in this ranking.
What are the deadliest cities in Rhode Island?
The deadliest cities in Rhode Island are Hopkinton, Narragansett, Providence, Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Warwick, Cranston, ranked by murders per capita. All of the numbers come from the FBI’s most recent Uniform Crime Report.
Why rank by murder rate instead of total murders?
Because population size swamps everything else. The biggest cities almost always log the most total murders, but a rate per 100,000 residents shows where the risk actually runs highest — which is why Hopkinton tops this list at 12 per 100k.
