Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Crime per resident in North Providence runs lower than in 71% of U.S. towns
Recorded violent crime ran at 1.0 per 1,000 residents a year and property crime at 7.1, against 1.5 and 10.1 in the rest of Rhode Island. The grade is B+, built on crimes North Providence’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #22 of 36 graded towns in Rhode Island. Of the 5 towns on its borders with figures, one records less crime per resident.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of RI” is every other Rhode Island city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in North Providence
1 of the 5 graded towns next door reports less crime
Of the 5 Rhode Island towns on North Providence’s borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Smithfield (A−), Lincoln (B), Johnston (B), Pawtucket (C+), Providence (C). Neighbors ↓
Among Rhode Island towns, closer to the middle
Rhode Island’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so North Providence’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 39% of the 36 Rhode Island towns we grade, against 71% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind North Providence’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are lower than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | North Providence | Rest of Rhode Island | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
North Providence’s police reported 102 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.0 per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.5 in the rest of Rhode Island and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in North Providence per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | North Providence property | Rest of Rhode Island property | North Providence violent | Rest of Rhode Island violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9.5 | 12.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | 8.6 | 11.1 | 0.9 | 1.6 |
| 2024 | 6.3 | 10.2 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| 2025 | 6.3 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 1.4 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Rhode Island.
255 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
34 violent and 221 property, as reported to the FBI by North Providence’s police.
Two people died in crashes on North Providence’s roads in 2019–2023
North Providence had 2 fatal crashes in five years, in which two people died.
That is fewer than is typical for Rhode Island towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (5.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of North Providence’s size would see about 10 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so North Providence’s own rate (1.2) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
North Providence and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Providence | B+ | 1.0 | 7.1 |
| Johnston | B | 1.2 | 10.1 |
| Providence | C | 2.9 | 17.1 |
| Pawtucket | C+ | 2.8 | 14.7 |
| Smithfield | A− | 0.5 | 8.2 |
| Lincoln | B | 0.8 | 10.4 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Rhode Island towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Providence | B+ | 1.0 | 7.1 |
| South Kingstown | A | 0.4 | 3.9 |
| Cumberland | A | 0.5 | 4.7 |
| North Kingstown | A− | 0.6 | 6.4 |
| Coventry | B+ | 0.8 | 9.2 |
| West Warwick | B | 1.9 | 6.0 |
The five graded Rhode Island towns closest to North Providence’s population (34,833), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of North Providence. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against North Providence’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (34,901 in 2025); our figure for North Providence is 34,833 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in North Providence
Is North Providence, RI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, North Providence reports less crime per resident than 71% of U.S. towns, a B+ Safety Grade and #22 of 36 in Rhode Island. Its police reported 1.0 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.5 in the rest of Rhode Island and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in North Providence?
1.0 violent and 7.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Rhode Island reports 1.5 and 10.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in North Providence in 2025?
North Providence’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 2.9 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is North Providence safer than Johnston?
Johnston reports more crime per resident than North Providence: Johnston grades B for safety and North Providence B+. Johnston’s police reported 1.2 violent and 10.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices North Providence?
North Providence’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “North Providence”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in North Providence.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.