Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0At 8.2%, unemployment in Providence is higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
About one in three stay in Providence for work; outside it, Warwick is the main destination (7%, 8 miles). The two grades for Providence are C for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Commuters spend 25 minutes getting to work on average; the Rhode Island average is 26, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Providence and work: the main findings
Most Providence residents work close to home
69% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 4% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Providence is where the jobs are
Providence has 105,253 jobs, 1.5 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in Providence is services
85% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 5% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Why Providence gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Providence is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #36 of 38 in Rhode Island. Job access by car holds Providence’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Providence could be anywhere from C to C+.
How far Providence goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Providence by day and by night
On a workday 45,089 residents head out to work, 25,014 work right here, and 80,239 people come in from elsewhere.
About 230,000 people are in Providence on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Most jobs in Providence are in services
105,253 jobs are based in Providence.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Providence, 2013 → 2023: 102,337 → 105,253. 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 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Providence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who travels to work in Providence, and from where
Where Providence clocks in
7% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
About 25 minutes to work from Providence
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Providence workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 76,975 commuters (the 14% 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.
Providence is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Providence is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #2 of 38 in Rhode Island. Both inputs place Providence near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 89,783 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, 80% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 19.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 98% 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). 17.1% of Providence households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Providence’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
110th of 146: where Providence ranks among U.S. towns of 137,000 to 264,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| 3 | Olathe KS | 150,025 | $114K | 5.6% | 2.7% | 26% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 108 | Lancaster CA | 170,084 | $82K | 15.6% | 7.5% | 25% | C |
| 109 | Pasadena TX | 148,539 | $65K | 18.9% | 8.6% | 17% | C |
| 110 | Providence RI | 195,310 | $68K | 20.7% | 8.2% | 36% | C |
| 111 | Winston-Salem NC | 257,271 | $59K | 17.7% | 5.7% | 48% | C |
| 112 | Springfield MO | 169,847 | $49K | 18.4% | 4.3% | 71% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 146 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Providence, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
Bordering towns draw 18% of Providence’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Providence workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | – | C | A+ | 25 min | $68,119 |
| East Providence | 4% | B | A | 23 min | $75,912 |
| Johnston | 3% | B | B+ | 24 min | $91,866 |
| Cranston | 7% | B | A− | 24 min | $90,206 |
| North Providence | under 3% | B | A | 27 min | $83,756 |
| Pawtucket | 4% | C+ | A | 26 min | $68,310 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Cranston. Darker towns draw more of 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 2023, 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 Providence: questions
What is the median household income in Providence?
$68,119 (±$2,678) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Providence?
20.7%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Providence?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Providence work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Warwick (7%, 8 mi), Cranston (7%, 5 mi), East Providence (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Providence walkable?
Providence is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.6 out of 20, and 14% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Providence without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. 80% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Providence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Providence
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, 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.