Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cranston grades B− overall, ranked 31st of 38 in Rhode Island, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. On the other side, the typical home is worth about $455K, 5.2 years of the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 24 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Thomas Fenner House and Gov. William Sprague Mansion. On hazard risk, just 3 of Rhode Island’s 39 towns do worse. Randall Park, at 396 acres with 4.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Cranston beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,990 in 1790, a low of 1,644 in 1800, 82,934 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1858 and 6 maps from 1894 on.
24 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Rhode Island), ordered by how far Cranston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cranston. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw23 mi MuseumThe Breakers
Big draw26 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
14 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
17 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
23 mi MuseumMarble HouseGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Marble House: [email protected], Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cranston, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Cranston.
Cranston trades workers with Providence and other neighbors and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Rhode Island; it also has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Within Rhode Island it is less healthy than 70% of the 38 graded towns: Rhode Island sets a high bar.
Cranston beats the Rhode Island average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 36% of Cranston adults feel lonely, where Rhode Island’s towns sit at 33% and U.S. towns at 33%. 84% of Cranston adults had a checkup this year.
| Cranston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 85% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 10% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 29% | 35% |
| What stands out | Cranston | RI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.6% | 14.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Cranston school district. Two of its 29 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Hills Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 727 | B− |
| Cranston High School WestLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,653 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within RI on state tests and graduation
Cranston has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Among 38 Rhode Island towns, just 1 have a higher July high than Cranston.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
On this, Cranston is below Rhode Island’s towns (14%) and close to U.S. towns (4.3%). 16 miles of trail in 13 parks and preserves.
| Cranston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.5% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Randall Park | 4.7 mi | 396 |
| 2. John L. Curran State Park | 3.6 mi | 335 |
| 3. Pawtuxet State Park | 1.2 mi | 73 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Cranston has about as many jobs (34,302) as working residents, but only 6,500 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Cranston for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Providence (23%), Warwick (11%) and Johnston (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.
| Cranston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 12% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 6.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $105,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 1,029 to 819 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Rhode Island has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Cranston sits closer to the middle.
| Cranston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical Cranston home is worth about $455,000, up 1.8% in a year, 11% below the Rhode Island typical home. 68% of households own their home in Cranston.
| Cranston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 68% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,375 a month | $1,366 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Rhode Island average. Cranston has grown 2.1% since 2020, to 84,647 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 36% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Rhode Island.
| Cranston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 39.6 years | 44 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 18% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 40% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.3 points. Across Rhode Island, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 41.0, men 38.0.
| Cranston | RI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 10% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.5% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.2% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.8% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.3% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 10.2% | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.8% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.7% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.9% | 8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.9% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.5% | 15.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
438 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 76 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 438 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cranston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
11 within 15 miles of the center of Cranston
About 6 of every 100 Cranston residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Rhode Island.
24 places in Cranston on the National Register of Historic Places.
39 notable people were born in Cranston.
City in Rhode Island, United States
Cranston, formerly known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. Its official population in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second-largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston; it is a part of the Providence metropolitan area. The Town of Cranston was created in 1754 from a portion of Providence north of the Pawtuxet River. After losing much of its territory to neighboring towns and the city of Providence, Cranston became a city on March 10, 1910.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Cranston.
| Town | RI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranston | #31 | B− | D | B | B− | B+ |
| Warwick | #29 | B− | C− | B | C+ | B+ |
| Johnston | #30 | B− | C | B | B− | B |
| Providence | #36 | D | D | C | D | C+ |
| Scituate | #15 | A | D | A+ | A− | A− |
| Coventry | #27 | B | C | B+ | B− | B+ |
| West Warwick | #33 | C+ | C− | B | C | B− |
| East Providence | #32 | C+ | C− | — | C+ | B− |
East Providence reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Cranston with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cranston grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #31 of 38 in Rhode Island. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and B− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Rhode Island has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Cranston sits nearer the middle.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
39 notable people were born here, including Olivia Culpo and Robert Aldrich.
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