Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of North Providence commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 6.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 19.2 in Providence. Employers in North Providence report 6,712 jobs, and 17,307 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income North Providence is better than 65% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from North Providence, in brief
A lot of North Providence works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders North Providence: Providence (24%), Johnston (5%) and Pawtucket (4%). Next door ↓
Most North Providence residents work close to home
68% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 3% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
North Providence empties out on a workday
About 24,000 people are in North Providence on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than the 35,000 who live here: 16,000 head out to work and 5,600 come in. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where North Providence’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds North Providence’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Providence could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Miles to work from North Providence
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
A workday in North Providence: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 16,148 residents head out to work, 1,159 work right here, and 5,553 people come in from elsewhere.
About 24,000 people are in North Providence on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
24% of working residents work in Providence
Where North Providence clocks in
24% of workers
6% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in North Providence
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Providence, 2014 → 2024: 6,057 → 6,712. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs North Providence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes each way for North Providence’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Providence workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,249 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Rhode Island: 83% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
North Providence is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Rhode Island.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 17,414 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 55% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 89% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.3% of North Providence households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of North Providence’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,287 U.S. towns of 24,000 to 47,000, North Providence comes 712th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | Cumberland RI | 37,615 | $118K | 3.9% | 3.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 316 | North Kingstown RI | 27,885 | $126K | 6.1% | 3.4% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 543 | Coventry RI | 36,281 | $103K | 7.4% | 4.5% | 11% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 710 | Delta Township MI | 33,175 | $84K | 7.8% | 5.3% | 15% | B |
| 711 | Monroe Township NJ | 38,137 | $97K | 8.2% | 6.7% | 9% | B |
| 712 | North Providence RI | 34,833 | $84K | 9.3% | 5.4% | 7% | B |
| 713 | Alvin TX | 30,115 | $71K | 9.2% | 4.1% | 15% | B |
| 714 | Cartersville GA | 25,349 | $84K | 12.4% | 2.7% | 18% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,287 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of North Providence, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
North Providence and its neighbors: 41% work next door
The biggest share goes to Providence (24%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Providence workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Providence | – | B | A | 27 min | $83,756 |
| Johnston | 5% | B | B+ | 24 min | $91,866 |
| Providence | 24% | C | A+ | 25 min | $68,119 |
| Pawtucket | 4% | C+ | A | 26 min | $68,310 |
| Lincoln | 4% | B+ | B | 24 min | $104,821 |
| Smithfield | 4% | B+ | A | 25 min | $102,077 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of North Providence’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in North Providence: questions
What is the median household income in North Providence?
$83,756 (±$6,468) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Providence?
9.3%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Providence?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Providence work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Providence (24%, 3 mi), Cranston (6%, 6 mi), Warwick (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is North Providence walkable?
North Providence is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.6 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Providence without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 55% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Providence, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Providence
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.