Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Reported crime per resident in Providence fell 16% from 2023 to 2025
Overall, Providence grades C for safety (#96 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000): more crime per resident than 70% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported to the FBI in 2023–2025.
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 Providence
4 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 Rhode Island towns on Providence’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: North Providence (B+), Cranston (B), Johnston (B), Pawtucket (C+). East Providence reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Rhode Island towns, lower
Rhode Island’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so Providence’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 3% of the 36 Rhode Island towns we grade, against 30% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Homicides: below U.S. cities overall
Providence’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 4.7 per 100,000 residents a year, 3.0 times the rest of Rhode Island (1.6) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 3.9 times the rest of Rhode Island
54.1 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (92 reported in 2025), 3.9 times the rest of Rhode Island (13.8) and below all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Providence reports less crime per resident than 70% (#96). Places like it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind 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 higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (2.9) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns. Its property rate (17.1) is below the FBI’s national estimate (17.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Rhode Island.
Show as a table
| Year | Providence property | Rest of Rhode Island property | Providence violent | Rest of Rhode Island violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 25.3 | 10.1 | 3.4 | 1.3 |
| 2023 | 19.1 | 9.3 | 3.1 | 1.3 |
| 2024 | 16.6 | 8.7 | 2.8 | 1.2 |
| 2025 | 15.7 | 7.4 | 2.9 | 1.1 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Homicides and robberies
Providence’s police reported 4 homicides, 92 robberies and 561 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Rhode Island and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Providence | Rest of Rhode Island | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 5.8 | 1.9 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 6.2 | 1.1 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Providence | Rest of Rhode Island | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 71.9 | 14.3 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 59.6 | 14.1 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 55.8 | 15.0 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 47.1 | 12.1 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 16 property crimes reported
And about 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
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.
3,621 crimes reported in 2025
561 violent and 3,060 property, as reported to the FBI by Providence’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
48 people died in crashes on Providence’s roads in 2019–2023
Providence had 46 fatal crashes in five years, in which 48 people died; 17 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. 8 died in crashes on an Interstate.
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.
Providence and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | C | 2.9 | 17.1 |
| East Providence | — | — | — |
| Johnston | B | 1.2 | 10.1 |
| Cranston | B | 1.0 | 10.2 |
| North Providence | B+ | 1.0 | 7.1 |
| Pawtucket | C+ | 2.8 | 14.7 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. East Providence reported to the FBI for 2023 and 2024 but not 2025.
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 Providence. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Providence’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (195,376 in 2025); our figure for Providence is 195,310 (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 Providence
Is Providence, RI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Providence reports more crime per resident than 70% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade. Its police reported 2.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 1.2 in the rest of Rhode Island and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Providence?
2.9 violent and 17.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Rhode Island reports 1.2 and 8.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Providence?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Providence in 2025?
Providence’s police reported 4 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 2.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Providence safer than Johnston?
Johnston reports less crime per resident than Providence: Johnston grades B for safety and Providence C. Johnston’s police reported 1.2 violent and 10.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Providence?
Providence’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Providence”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Providence.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
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.