Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 6,540, settled in 1849.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Exeter grades A− overall, 18th of 38 graded towns in Rhode Island. Residents are healthier than 86% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $111K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $618K, 7.1 years of the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. 35% of the land in Exeter is conserved, against 11% in Rhode Island’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Arcadia Management Area, at 9,073 acres with 81.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. On history, just 2 of Rhode Island’s 39 towns do worse.
Where Exeter beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,495 in 1790, a low of 778 in 1910, 6,460 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1939 and 6 maps from 1890 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Exeter takes its name from Exeter in Devon, England, 3,200 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionExeter, settled in 1849, takes its name from Exeter, a city in Devon, England.
8 more U.S. towns are named after Exeter:Exeter Township, PABerks County · 26,069Exeter, NH16,213Exeter, CA10,122Exeter, PA5,587Exeter, WI2,209+3 more
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Rhode Island), ordered by how far Exeter is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Exeter. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi MuseumThe Breakers
Big draw35 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
15 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
26 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
18 mi MuseumMarble House
18 mi MuseumThe ElmsThe 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 · The Elms: The original uploader was Daderot at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Exeter, 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 Exeter.
Exeter keeps more of its land conserved than most of Rhode Island, pairs an A− for schools with high home prices and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Rhode Island.
Its 13,037 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 97% of Rhode Island towns.
Among 38 Rhode Island towns, just 3 have a higher concentration of trails than Exeter. Walkers can cover 112 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Arcadia Management Area | 81.8 mi | 9,073 |
| 2. Fisherville Brook Preserve | 4.4 mi | 701 |
| 3. Cuttyhunk Brook Preserve | 1.9 mi | 359 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $618K.
The public schools here belong to the Exeter-West Greenwich school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metcalf SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 2–6 | Grades 2–6 | 522 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within RI on state tests and graduation
Within Rhode Island it is healthier than 59% of the 38 graded towns: Rhode Island sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Rhode Island is housing insecurity: 8.3% of its 4,841 adults worry about keeping their housing, against 13.1% statewide.
Exeter: 28% of adults feel lonely, below both Rhode Island’s towns (34%) and U.S. towns (33%). The share of adults in Exeter who had a checkup this year: 85%. Of 32 CDC measures, Exeter beats the Rhode Island average on 10 and trails it on 1.
| Exeter | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 34% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 85% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 25% |
| What stands out | Exeter | RI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.3% | 13.1% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.8% | 15.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The FEMA risk score for Exeter comes to 17 of 100. Since 2008, Exeter has seen 7 flood insurance claims paid out. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 70% come from inland flooding and 13% from hurricanes. Federal aid has come to Exeter households in 10 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The top destinations are North Kingstown (12%), Warwick (10%) and Providence (10%). For most workers, Exeter is a place to come home to: only 8% work in town. Also worth knowing: its mean commuting time is 22 minutes. Since 2013, Exeter has added 137 jobs, to 1,539 in 2023.
| Exeter | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 6.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $111,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 8% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
91% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48% across Rhode Island.
Typical home values rose 2.6% in the year to September 2026. Exeter: four in five households own their home. The midpoint rent locally is $1,317 a month.
| Exeter | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,317 a month | $1,371 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
For Exeter, the typical July afternoon high is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 46%, against 38% across Rhode Island. No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Rhode Island average. 20% of residents are under 18 in Exeter.
| Exeter | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 37% | 29% |
| Median age | 37.7 years | 44 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 21% | 18% |
46% women, 54% men
About 117 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.9 points). Across Rhode Island, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Exeter | RI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.3% | 10% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.4% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 13.5% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.8% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.1% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.7% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.6% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.6% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.6% | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.4% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 11.8% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.2% | 8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.6% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.5% | 15.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
3 within 15 miles of the center of Exeter
About 11 of every 100 Exeter residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Rhode Island.
35.1% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
5 places in Exeter on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Rhode Island, United States
Exeter is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. Exeter extends east from the Connecticut border to the town of North Kingstown. It is bordered to the north by West Greenwich and East Greenwich, and to the south by Hopkinton, Richmond, and South Kingstown. Exeter's postal code is 02822, although small parts of the town have the mailing address West Kingston (02892) or Saunderstown (02874). The population was 6,460 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Exeter.
| Town | RI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter | #18 | A− | D | — | A− | A |
| North Kingstown | #7 | A | C− | A− | A− | A+ |
| West Greenwich | #21 | A− | D− | A | A− | A− |
| Richmond | #12 | A | D | A | B+ | A+ |
| South Kingstown | #13 | A | D | A | B+ | A |
| Hopkinton | #17 | A− | C | A | B+ | A |
| East Greenwich | #1 | A+ | C | A− | A | A |
Exeter reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Exeter with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Exeter grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #18 of 38 in Rhode Island. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
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