Should I Move To
Roughly 189,715 people live in Providence, Rhode Island. Living here costs moderate relative to the rest of the country, 6% above the national average. Median rent runs about $1,214/mo; the typical household pulls in $61,365. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 55/100 — a C, putting it at #300 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Providence sits at 106 — moderate when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($1,214/mo against $61,365 median household income), housing eats roughly 24% of a typical paycheck — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Buying-side, the median home value is $293,000.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is cold-winter: roughly 77°F in summer, 20°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 48 inches. A walker's paradise by US standards. Many people here genuinely skip car ownership. On safety, this is a middle-of-the-pack city — neither standout nor concerning. AQI runs about 34 — a "good" reading.
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Providence isn't the strongest match. The profile-weighted score is 54/100 — a C-. Its standout dimension is walkability (99/100); the soft spot is job market (18/100).
For retirees, Providence is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 58/100 — a C. Its standout dimension is walkability (99/100); the soft spot is job market (18/100).
For remote workers, Providence is workable — not standout, not weak. The profile-weighted score is 60/100 — a C. Its standout dimension is walkability (99/100); the soft spot is job market (18/100).
For young professionals, Providence isn't the strongest match. The profile-weighted score is 49/100 — a D. Its standout dimension is walkability (99/100); the soft spot is job market (18/100).
Our overall score for Providence is 55/100 — a C, sitting at #300 in the national ranking. It's a weighted average across the seven UrbRank dimensions.
By the composite index, Providence sits at 106 — moderate, 6% above the national average. Median renter pays around $1,214 a month.
Providence runs cold-winter on the weather. Summer's near 77°F, winter's near 20°F; 48 inches of precipitation annually.
Walk Score: 99/100. A walker's paradise by US standards. Many people here genuinely skip car ownership.
Roughly 189,715 people live here, with 34% college-educated (bachelor's or higher) among adults 25+ with a median age of 32.
Drop Providence into the comparison tool with any other US city and you'll get housing costs, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life data lined up side by side. Profile-specific leaderboards (families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals) are linked from the navigation.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Providence with other Rhode Island cities scored on UrbRank.
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