Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
East Providence is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 32nd among Rhode Island's 38 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $76K. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $445K for a typical one and 5.1 times the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. Its National Register listings include Crescent Park Carousel and Phillip Walker House. East Providence is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 89% of U.S. towns. Only 3 of the 38 Rhode Island towns we compare have a lower average trip to work than East Providence.
Where East Providence beats most towns.
Crescent Park Carousel
Crescent Park Carousel is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 2,668 in 1870, 47,139 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1871 and 3 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 East Providence is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around East Providence. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw23 mi MuseumThe Breakers
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw30 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
12 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
14 mi Ancient siteHMS EndeavourGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in East Providence, 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 East Providence.
East Providence 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.
16 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. No town among the 38 in Rhode Island we compare has a lower share of conserved land than East Providence. East Providence’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile, against 0.8 in Rhode Island’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| East Providence | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crescent Amusement Park | 1.1 mi | 14 |
| 2. Bridgham Farm Conservation Area | 1 mi | 11 |
| 3. Sabin Point Park | 0.5 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the East Providence school district. Three of its 20 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Martin MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 564 | C |
| East Providence HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,691 | B− |
| Myron J. Francis ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 391 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within RI on state tests and graduation
85 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 15 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 86% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 85 flood insurance claims have been paid out in East Providence.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
East Providence has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 22° and about 37 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
East Providence has about as many jobs (21,679) as working residents, but only 3,433 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave East Providence for work: only 16% work in town. Since 2013, East Providence has added 2,147 jobs, to 21,679 in 2023. The top destinations are Providence (24%), Warwick (6%) and Cranston (5%).
| East Providence | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $105,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 6.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
60% of households own their home in East Providence, below both the Rhode Island town median (76%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). The typical East Providence home is worth about $445,000, up 2.1% in a year, 13% below the Rhode Island typical home.
| East Providence | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,288 a month | $1,371 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
East Providence's reported crime rate is below Rhode Island's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 35 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| East Providence | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 6.8 per 1,000 residents | 6.9 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Rhode Island average. East Providence’s median age is 45.1 years. East Providence has grown 2.4% since 2020, to 48,249 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| East Providence | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 45.1 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 40% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 21% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.6 points. Across Rhode Island, 50.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 49.3, men 41.3.
| East Providence | RI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8% | 10% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.6% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.5% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.8% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.3% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.4% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.6% | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.6% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.4% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.9% | 8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.1% | 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
Within Rhode Island it is less healthy than 86% of the 38 graded towns: Rhode Island sets a high bar.
East Providence beats the Rhode Island average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 37% of adults feel lonely in East Providence. Only 2 of the 38 Rhode Island towns we compare have a lower share of adults who binge drink than East Providence.
| East Providence | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 85% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | East Providence | RI |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 7.9% | 6.6% |
| More adults who have had a stroke | 3.7% | 3.2% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.2% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
13 within 15 miles of the center of East Providence
About 4 of every 100 East Providence residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Rhode Island.
24 places in East Providence on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in East Providence.
City in Rhode Island, United States
East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,139 at the 2020 census, making it the fifth-largest city in the state.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with East Providence.
| Town | RI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Providence | #32 | C+ | C− | — | C+ | B− |
| Providence | #36 | D | D | C | D | C+ |
| Barrington | #3 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Pawtucket | #35 | D | C | C+ | D | C |
| Warwick | #29 | B− | C− | B | C+ | B+ |
| Cranston | #31 | B− | D | B | B− | B+ |
East Providence reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare East Providence with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
East Providence grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #32 of 38 in Rhode Island. It grades B− for health and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
12 notable people were born here, including Arunah Shepherdson Abell and Davey Lopes.
_underway_c1944.jpg){kind=link}
