More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Providence to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Providence are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Providence ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Providence area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Providence proper, although Attleboro certainly tries.
We examined the 13 biggest suburbs of Providence to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Rhode Island lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Providence in terms of quality of life.
$49,285 median income · $377,289 median home price
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
We’ll get the ball rolling with Central Falls, the absolute worst place to live around Providence according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Central Falls beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the worst in the Providence area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Central Falls.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,050 median income · $267,149 median home price
Welcome to Danielson. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 24.0 miles to Providence. Income levels here are the 5th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $64,050 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
$56,673 median income · $445,781 median home price
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Providence suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Fall River on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Providence suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
$56,981 median income · $434,262 median home price
If you live in New Bedford, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 3rd lowest Providence suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 4th worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Providence. Remember, we looked at 13 cities for this study.
New Bedford is about 27.2 miles to downtown.
$61,059 median income · $380,892 median home price
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
Woonsocket has the distinction of being a Providence suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Woonsocket has the 3rd lowest home values in the metro Providence area, where the median price is $380,892. The median income is $98,954.
Woonsocket has an unemployment rate of 6.8% which ranks 7th worst.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$68,310 median income · $391,766 median home price
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
Pawtucket has 75,893 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 13.3%.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$80,115 median income · $503,833 median home price
Ah, Brockton. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Providence.
It’s the place with the 3rd most out of work residents in the Providence metro area (8.6%).
$79,283 median income · $513,322 median home price
Taunton is a city about 17.5 miles from Providence, but Providence probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Taunton has the 10th most uninsured people, 8th worst incomes, and has the 10th highest unemployment rate (5.8%) in the entire Providence metro area.
Homes only cost $513,322 for a reason. That’s cheap for Providence standards.
$86,313 median income · $938,854 median home price
Located in
Newport County, Rhode Island
If you absolutely have to live near Providence, then Newport might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Providence suburb.
About 9.0% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$90,206 median income · $446,694 median home price
Located in
Providence County, Rhode Island
Rounding out the ten worst Providence suburbs to call home is Cranston.
Located 5.0 miles outside the city, Cranston is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 9th highest unemployment rate (6.1%), and poverty is far above the area average.
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: 5.8%
Rhode Island statewide median: 11.2%
On the map
Where the worst Providence suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Providence for 2026
To figure out how bad a Providence suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Providence.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 4,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 13 suburbs to evaluate around Providence.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 13 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Providence.” We’re looking at you, Central Falls.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Providence.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Providence Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central Falls | 3.43 | 22,701 | $49,285 | $377,289 |
| 2 | Danielson | 4.00 | 4,209 | $64,050 | $267,149 |
| 3 | Fall River | 4.57 | 94,082 | $56,673 | $445,781 |
| 4 | New Bedford | 4.86 | 100,998 | $56,981 | $434,262 |
| 5 | Woonsocket | 5.50 | 43,521 | $61,059 | $380,892 |
| 6 | Pawtucket | 6.93 | 75,893 | $68,310 | $391,766 |
| 7 | Brockton | 7.29 | 105,386 | $80,115 | $503,833 |
| 8 | Taunton | 8.00 | 60,433 | $79,283 | $513,322 |
| 9 | Newport | 8.29 | 24,874 | $86,313 | $938,854 |
| 10 | Cranston | 8.86 | 83,250 | $90,206 | $446,694 |
| 11 | East Providence | 9.00 | 47,281 | $75,912 | $439,966 |
| 12 | Warwick | 9.57 | 83,175 | $88,708 | $414,087 |
| 13 | Attleboro | 10.71 | 46,762 | $98,954 | $532,570 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 13 suburbs within 30 miles of Providence.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Providence where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Providence with Central Falls casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Providence are Central Falls, Danielson, Fall River, New Bedford, Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Brockton, Taunton, Newport, and Cranston.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Providence aren’t all bad. Attleboro takes the cake as the best place to live around Providence. Not sold on Rhode Island? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Providence FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Providence?
Central Falls ranks as the worst suburb around Providence for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Danielson and Fall River are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Providence?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Providence are Central Falls, Danielson, Fall River, New Bedford, Woonsocket, Pawtucket, Brockton, Taunton, Newport, and Cranston. We scored all 13 places within 30 miles.
Why does Central Falls rank as the worst suburb?
Central Falls posts the roughest combined numbers of the 13 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $49,285, a median home value of $377,289, and a poverty rate of 24.6%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Providence?
Attleboro lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Providence by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Providence list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
