Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Foster grades B+ overall, 22nd among Rhode Island's 38 graded towns. It reports less crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. The median household earns $114K and it is healthier than 75% of U.S. towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $556K, 6.4 years of the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 8 places on the National Register. No town in Rhode Island scores lower than Foster on walkability. Its National Register listings include Capt. George Dorrance House and Mount Vernon Tavern. Among 38 Rhode Island towns, just 2 have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Foster.
Where Foster beats most towns.
Capt. George Dorrance House
Census counts: 2,268 in 1790, a low of 905 in 1920, 4,469 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 6 maps from 1889 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Rhode Island), ordered by how far Foster is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Foster. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw32 mi MuseumThe Breakers
24 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
30 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
32 mi MuseumMarble HouseLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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 Foster, 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 Foster.
Foster gets more snow than almost anywhere else in Rhode Island, sends most of its workers to Providence and beyond and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Rhode Island.
At 1.5 per 1,000 residents, Foster’s property crime rate is below both Rhode Island’s towns (5.5) and U.S. towns (9.9).
| Foster | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 5.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Foster school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capt. Isaac Paine El. SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 241 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within RI on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 2010, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Foster.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Rhode Island it is less healthy than 68% of the 38 graded towns: Rhode Island sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Rhode Island is no health insurance: 5.1% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 8.2% statewide.
85% of Foster adults had a checkup this year, near the Rhode Island town median (85%) and above the median of U.S. towns (79%). Foster beats the Rhode Island average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 35% of adults feel lonely in Foster.
| Foster | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 85% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 33% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 29% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Foster | RI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.1% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 15.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.4% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Foster has 473 jobs for its 2,279 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 33.2 minutes, against 25.5 across Rhode Island.
Most working residents leave Foster for work: only 7% work in town. Foster’s average trip to work is 33 minutes. Since 2013, Foster has added 103 jobs, to 473 in 2023.
| Foster | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 18% | 13% | 11% |
| Median household income | $114,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 35 to 64 are 49% of residents (39% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (24% statewide). The median age in Foster is 47.1 years. Foster has grown 3.6% since 2020, to 4,628 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Foster | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47.1 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 18% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 40% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 21% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.5 points. Across Rhode Island, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Foster | RI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.7% | 10% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.2% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.1% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.7% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.7% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.1% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.4% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.2% | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.3% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.9% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.7% | 8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.4% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.5% | 15.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
The N Foster 1 E weather station, 5 miles away, records that 62 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, the highest of 67 Rhode Island places with climate records.
Foster has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 81° and January nights drop to 19°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
14 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is George B. Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge, 326 acres with 3.2 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. George B. Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge | 3.2 mi | 326 |
| 2. Thoman Land and Nature Preserve | — | 32 |
| 3. Jerimoth Hill | 0.1 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
91% of Foster households own their home. The typical Foster home is worth about $556,000, up 4.1% in a year, 9% above the Rhode Island typical home.
| Foster | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 91% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,509 a month | $1,366 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of Foster
About 4 of every 100 Foster residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Rhode Island.
Where Foster’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Foster on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Rhode Island, United States
Foster is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 4,469 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Foster.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Foster grades B+ overall, better than 73% of U.S. towns and #22 of 38 in Rhode Island. It grades A− for health, A for safety and B+ for schools. Walkability 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.
2 notable people were born here, including Nelson W. Aldrich and William S. Hayward.
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