Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Scituate grades A overall, ranked 15th of 38 in Rhode Island. The median household earns $112K. It reports less crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns and its schools rank ahead of 82% of Rhode Island towns. The catch is cost: homes are expensive, about $559K for a typical one and 6.4 times the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 10 places on the National Register. 32% of the land in Scituate is conserved, against 11% in Rhode Island’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 1 of Rhode Island’s 39 towns score lower on walkability. Its National Register listings include Smithville Seminary and Dexter Arnold Farmstead.
Where Scituate beats most towns.
Old Congregational Church| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| North Scituate School | K–5 | 238 |
| Hope School | K–5 | 163 |
| Clayville School | PK–5 | 140 |
Census counts: 2,315 in 1790, a low of 2,292 in 1930, 10,384 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1812 and 7 maps from 1889 on.
10 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Rhode Island), ordered by how far Scituate is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 14%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Scituate. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw19 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw29 mi MuseumThe Breakers
21 mi Ancient siteHMS Endeavour
25 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
30 mi MuseumMarble HouseGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · HMS Endeavour: Samuel Atkins (c.1760-1810), Public domain · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Marble House: [email protected], Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Scituate, 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 Scituate.
Scituate gets more snow than almost anywhere else in Rhode Island, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Rhode Island and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Rhode Island.
Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
At 1.1 per 1,000 residents, Scituate’s property crime rate is where Rhode Island’s towns sit at 5.5 and U.S. towns at 9.9.
| Scituate | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 5.5 | 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
Its A− for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $559K.
Its public schools are run by the Scituate school district. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Scituate High School, with 387 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scituate Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 260 | B− |
| Scituate High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 387 | A− |
| Clayville SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 140 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within RI on state tests and graduation
Its 11,247 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 92% of Rhode Island towns.
Of the 38 Rhode Island towns we compare, none has a lower trail density than Scituate. 4.7 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Manning Field | — | 9 |
| 2. Hope Park | — | 7 |
| 3. Hope Pond Recreational Area | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Within Rhode Island it is less healthy than 54% of the 38 graded towns: Rhode Island sets a high bar. Its widest gap with Rhode Island is no health insurance: 4.7% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 8.2% statewide.
Scituate beats the Rhode Island average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 85% of adults had a checkup this year in Scituate.
| Scituate | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 85% | 85% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 15% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 29% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 4.7% | 5.4% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Scituate | RI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.7% | 8.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.5% | 14.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.6% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 31 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Scituate.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Scituate has 1,473 jobs for its 5,560 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Scituate for work: only 6% work in town. The average trip to work in Scituate is 31 minutes. Jobs based in Scituate grew to 1,473 in 2023, 150 more than in 2013.
| Scituate | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $112,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.2% | 12% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The N Foster 1 E weather station, 6 miles away, records that 62 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, the highest of 67 Rhode Island places with climate records.
Scituate has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Scituate’s July high is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 25% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (24% statewide). 15% of Scituate residents are under 18. Scituate has grown 3.9% since 2020, to 10,767 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Scituate | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 49.9 years | 43.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 15% | 18% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 21% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 40% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.9 points. Across Rhode Island, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Scituate | RI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.6% | 10% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.3% | 8.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.1% | 10% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.8% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.3% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.9% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.9% | 11% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.3% | 10.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.8% | 26.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 20% | 17.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.1% | 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 Scituate home is worth about $559,000, up 3.7% in a year, 10% above the Rhode Island typical home.
| Scituate | Rhode Island towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 87% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,489 a month | $1,366 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
9 within 15 miles of the center of Scituate
About 4 of every 100 Scituate residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Rhode Island.
Where Scituate’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
10 places in Scituate on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Scituate.
Town in Rhode Island, United States
Scituate ( ; SIH-choo-ayt, -it) is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,384 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Scituate.
Coventry next door grades lower for schools (B− to Scituate’s A−) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Scituate grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #15 of 38 in Rhode Island. It grades A− for health, A+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
6 notable people were born here, including Elisha Mathewson and James Burrill Angell.
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