Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Johnston is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 30th of 38 graded towns in Rhode Island, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: residents are healthier than 64% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $453K for a typical one and 5.2 times the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. Only 1 of Rhode Island’s 39 towns score lower on civic life. Its National Register listings include Clemence-Irons House and Brown Avenue Historic District. Only 3 of Rhode Island’s 39 towns score lower on the outdoors.
Where Johnston beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1636, comes before those of 94% of the Rhode Island towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,320 in 1790, a low of 1,320 in 1790, 29,568 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1893 and 8 maps from 1889 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Rhode Island), ordered by how far Johnston is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Johnston. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw22 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw27 mi MuseumThe Breakers
18 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
20 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
28 mi MuseumMarble HouseGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · 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 Johnston, 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 Johnston.
Johnston trades workers with Providence and other neighbors, has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of Rhode Island and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Rhode Island.
26 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Johnston’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, above both the Rhode Island town median (0.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest park or preserve is Randall Park, at 31 acres.
| Johnston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.3% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Johnston Memorial Park | 0.3 mi | 26 |
| 2. Randall Park | — | 31 |
| 3. Cricket Field | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Johnston school district. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas A. Ferri MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 720 | C+ |
| Johnston Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 826 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within RI on state tests and graduation
July afternoons average 82.5°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 80% of Rhode Island places with climate records; January nights average 19.7°.
Johnston has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. About 37 inches of snow falls in a winter. Johnston’s July high is 83°F, where Rhode Island’s towns sit at 82°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
| Johnston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 83°F | 82°F | 85°F |
| January low | 20°F | 22°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Rhode Island it is less healthy than 81% of the 38 graded towns: Rhode Island sets a high bar.
36% of adults feel lonely in Johnston. Johnston beats the Rhode Island average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 84% of adults had a checkup this year in Johnston.
| Johnston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 85% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 29% | 35% |
| What stands out | Johnston | RI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10.8% | 14.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Johnston has about as many jobs (16,838) as working residents, but only 1,550 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 10,975 in 2013 to 16,838.
Most working residents leave Johnston for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Johnston grew to 16,838 in 2023, 5,863 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Providence (22%), Cranston (9%) and Warwick (8%).
| Johnston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 9.9% | 14% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $105,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 6.5% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
94 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 19 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 94 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Johnston.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 404 to 286 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 Johnston sits closer to the middle.
| Johnston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.1 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Adults 18 to 34 are 20% of residents (24% statewide). 22% of Johnston residents are 65 or older. Johnston has grown 2.9% since 2020, to 30,494 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Johnston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 44.5 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 29% | 40% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.2 points). Across Rhode Island, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Johnston | RI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.5% | 10% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.4% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.3% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.5% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.8% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.8% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.3% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.3% | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.4% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.2% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.2% | 8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.8% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.1% | 15.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Johnston home is worth about $453,000, up 2.2% in a year, 11% below the Rhode Island typical home.
| Johnston | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,275 a month | $1,371 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 76% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
9 within 15 miles of the center of Johnston
About 6 of every 100 Johnston residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Rhode Island.
11 places in Johnston on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Johnston.
Town in Rhode Island, United States
Johnston is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 29,568 at the 2020 census. Johnston is the site of the Clemence Irons House (1691), a stone-ender museum, and the only landfill in Rhode Island. Incorporated on March 6, 1759, Johnston was named for the colonial attorney general, Augustus Johnston.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Johnston.
Scituate next door grades higher for schools (A− to Johnston’s B−) and lower for cost of living (D to C).
| Town | RI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnston | #30 | B− | C | B | B− | B |
| Providence | #36 | D | D | C | D | C+ |
| North Providence | #28 | B | C− | B+ | B− | B |
| Cranston | #31 | B− | D | B | B− | B+ |
| Smithfield | #10 | A | C | A− | A− | A |
| Scituate | #15 | A | D | A+ | A− | A− |
| Greenville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Greenville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Johnston with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Johnston grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #30 of 38 in Rhode Island. It grades B for health, B for safety and B− for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Rhode Island has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Johnston sits nearer the middle.
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 Joe Mazzulla and Samuel Ward King.
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