Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0At 1.2%, unemployment in Richmond is lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Richmond are A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Household incomes here are higher than in 90% of U.S. towns. 3.2% of residents are in poverty, where Rhode Island as a whole has 11.2%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Richmond stands out on work
Jobs & income in Richmond: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Richmond is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #5 of 38 in Rhode Island. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Richmond could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The trip to work from Richmond: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Richmond workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,227 commuters (the 11% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Richmond
On a workday 3,599 residents head out to work, 367 work right here, and 1,869 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,400 people are in Richmond on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.56 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
11% of working residents work in South Kingstown
Where Richmond clocks in
11% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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 2,236 jobs based in Richmond
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Richmond, 2013 → 2023: 2,057 → 2,236. 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 Richmond’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Richmond
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.
Most of Richmond commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Richmond is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns, #32 of 38 in Rhode Island. Both inputs place Richmond 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 4,750 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% 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). 0.0% of Richmond households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Richmond’s commuters take a bus or train.
Richmond next to U.S. towns of 5,700 to 11,000: 256th of 3,007 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 183 | Scituate RI | 10,767 | $112K | 5.0% | 1.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 254 | Courtland Township MI | 9,321 | $107K | 3.4% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| 255 | Mount Joy Township PA | 10,815 | $98K | 3.4% | 1.8% | 6% | A |
| 256 | Richmond RI | 8,128 | $125K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 9% | A |
| 257 | Audubon NJ | 8,825 | $116K | 2.9% | 4.0% | 4% | A |
| 258 | Roseland NJ | 6,417 | $164K | 2.5% | 4.9% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 511 | Glocester RI | 10,612 | $114K | 4.8% | 3.3% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 738 | Exeter RI | 6,540 | $111K | 12.8% | 1.0% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,007 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Richmond, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
Next door is work for 11% of Richmond
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Richmond workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | – | A | C+ | 34 min | $124,653 |
| Hopkinton | under 3% | B | C+ | 26 min | $97,172 |
| Charlestown | under 3% | B+ | B | 28 min | $109,404 |
| South Kingstown | 11% | B | A | 25 min | $108,960 |
| Hope Valley | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Exeter | under 3% | A− | B+ | 22 min | $111,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Hope Valley: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to South Kingstown. Darker towns draw more of Richmond’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 Richmond: questions
What is the median household income in Richmond?
$124,653 (±$26,720) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Richmond?
3.2%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Richmond?
34 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Richmond work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are South Kingstown (11%, 9 mi), Providence (9%, 26 mi), North Kingstown (8%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Richmond walkable?
Richmond is more walkable than 38% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Richmond without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Richmond, from the people who make the trip.
More of Richmond
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.