Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. North Smithfield grades A− overall, 19th of 38 graded towns in Rhode Island. The median household earns $109K. It is healthier than 80% of U.S. towns and its public schools beat 75% of Rhode Island towns on state tests and graduation. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $519K for a typical one and 6 times the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. Its National Register listings include Slatersville Historic District and Forestdale Mill Village Historic District. Among 38 Rhode Island towns, just 3 have a lower January low than North Smithfield. The biggest place to walk is Fort Nature Refuge, 222 acres with 3 miles of trail.
Where North Smithfield beats most towns.
Forestdale Mill Village Historic District| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| North Smithfield Elementary | PK–4 | 583 |
| North Smithfield MS | 5–8 | 502 |
| North Smitfield HS | 9–12 | 532 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Rhode Island), ordered by how far North Smithfield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,052 in 1870, 12,588 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1975 and 8 maps from 1889 on.
9 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North Smithfield. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw16 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw37 mi MuseumThe Breakers
27 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
Big draw34 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Smithfield, 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 North Smithfield.
North Smithfield has more 90° days than almost anywhere else in Rhode Island, sends many workers across the state line and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Rhode Island.
Within Rhode Island it is less healthy than 62% of the 38 graded towns: Rhode Island sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Rhode Island is no health insurance: 4.9% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 8.2% statewide.
85% of adults had a checkup this year in North Smithfield, where Rhode Island’s towns sit at 85% and U.S. towns at 79%. North Smithfield beats the Rhode Island average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 10% of North Smithfield adults smoke cigarettes.
| North Smithfield | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 85% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 29% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | North Smithfield | RI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.9% | 8.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10% | 15.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the North Smithfield school district. Its three schools are below. The largest public high school is North Smitfield HS, with 532 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Smithfield ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 583 | A− |
| North Smitfield HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 532 | A− |
| North Smithfield MSTop results in townGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 502 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within RI on state tests and graduation
The Woonsocket weather station records that about 14 days a year reach 90°, the highest of 67 Rhode Island places with climate records.
North Smithfield has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 42 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
23% of working residents cross a state line to work.
Most working residents leave North Smithfield for work: only 9% work in town. 4.8% of residents live below the poverty line in North Smithfield, below both Rhode Island’s towns (7%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Since 2013, North Smithfield has added 351 jobs, to 4,649 in 2023.
| North Smithfield | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $109,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.8% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 14% | 13% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in North Smithfield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Violent crime is rare: 6 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
Rhode Island has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns North Smithfield sits closer to the middle. The property crime rate in North Smithfield is 10.5 per 1,000 residents.
| North Smithfield | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.5 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
9.9 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves.
| North Smithfield | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.9% | 14% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fort Nature Refuge | 3 mi | 222 |
| 2. Booth Pond | 1.2 mi | 44 |
| 3. High Rocks Gorge | 1.1 mi | 210 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (24% statewide). North Smithfield’s median age is 45.5 years. North Smithfield has grown 3.2% since 2020, to 12,990 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| North Smithfield | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45.5 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 18% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 40% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 21% | 18% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.3 points. Across Rhode Island, 50.9% of residents are women.
| North Smithfield | RI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.4% | 10% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.8% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.8% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.7% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.9% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.6% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.9% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.6% | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.1% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.5% | 8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.2% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.6% | 15.4% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical North Smithfield home is worth about $519,000, up 2.1% in a year, close to the Rhode Island typical home.
| North Smithfield | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 78% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,282 a month | $1,371 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
8 within 15 miles of the center of North Smithfield
About 4 of every 100 North Smithfield residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Rhode Island.
9 places in North Smithfield on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in North Smithfield.
Town in Rhode Island, United States
North Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, settled as a farming community in 1666 and incorporated into its present form in 1871. North Smithfield includes the historic villages of Forestdale, Primrose, Waterford, Branch Village, Union Village, Park Square, and Slatersville. The population was 12,588 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with North Smithfield.
| Town | RI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Smithfield | #19 | A− | C− | B | A− | A− |
| Lincoln | #25 | B+ | C− | B | B+ | A |
| Woonsocket | #37 | D− | C | C | D | C− |
| Smithfield | #10 | A | C | A− | A− | A |
| Burrillville | #26 | B | C | A | C+ | B+ |
| Cumberland Hill | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cumberland | #9 | A | C− | A | A− | A− |
Cumberland Hill isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare North Smithfield with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. North Smithfield grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #19 of 38 in Rhode Island. It grades A− for health, B for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes, by national standards. Rhode Island has less crime than most states, so among its own towns North Smithfield sits nearer the middle.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
5 notable people were born here, including David Rawlings and Jeff Jillson.
_underway_c1944.jpg){kind=link}
