Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Warwick have higher incomes than those in 66% of U.S. towns
Warwick grades B+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. 7.6% of residents are in poverty (Rhode Island 11.2%). About one in four stay in Warwick for work; outside it, Providence is the main destination (18%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Warwick in brief
Warwick trades workers with the towns around it
Warwick has about as many jobs (46,160) as working residents (42,389), but they are mostly different people: 32,542 residents leave for work each day while 36,313 people come in. Only 21% of the jobs in Warwick are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Warwick and Providence trade workers both ways
Providence is the top workplace for Warwick residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Warwick come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Warwick residents work close to home
65% 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 ↓
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.
Where Warwick’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Warwick is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #23 of 38 in Rhode Island. Job access by car holds Warwick’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Warwick could be anywhere from B to A−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Warwick
On a workday 32,542 residents head out to work, 9,847 work right here, and 36,313 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.09 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Warwick ends
Where Warwick clocks in
18% of workers
9% of workers
6% 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.
How far Warwick’s workers travel
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.
What the 46,160 jobs in Warwick are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Warwick, 2013 → 2023: 46,255 → 46,160. 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 Warwick’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Warwick: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Warwick workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 37,504 commuters (the 12% 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.
Most of Warwick commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Warwick is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #19 of 38 in Rhode Island. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.7% across Rhode Island.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 42,789 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 85% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 27% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 5.5% of Warwick households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Warwick’s commuters take a bus or train.
Warwick next to U.S. towns of 59,000 to 114,000: 234th of 538 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 232 | Redlands CA | 74,128 | $105K | 9.1% | 5.5% | 19% | B+ |
| 233 | Silver Spring MD | 81,462 | $100K | 10.6% | 5.4% | 6% | B+ |
| 234 | Warwick RI | 84,187 | $89K | 7.6% | 5.1% | 23% | B+ |
| 235 | Palm Harbor FL | 61,512 | $79K | 10.3% | 3.3% | 10% | B+ |
| 236 | White Plains NY | 62,871 | $111K | 11.2% | 5.9% | 14% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 290 | Cranston RI | 84,647 | $90K | 10.2% | 6.1% | 16% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 403 | Pawtucket RI | 77,065 | $68K | 13.3% | 7.3% | 12% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 538 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Warwick, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
The towns next door employ 23% of Warwick
The biggest share goes to Cranston (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Warwick workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warwick | – | B+ | B+ | 25 min | $88,708 |
| Cranston | 9% | B | A− | 24 min | $90,206 |
| North Kingstown | 6% | A | B+ | 26 min | $126,293 |
| West Warwick | 2% | B+ | A− | 25 min | $77,608 |
| East Greenwich | 3% | A | A− | 25 min | $177,090 |
| Portsmouth | under 2% | A | B+ | 23 min | $117,467 |
| Barrington | under 2% | A+ | A | 30 min | $153,198 |
| East Providence | 3% | B | A | 23 min | $75,912 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Warwick’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 Warwick: questions
What is the median household income in Warwick?
$88,708 (±$5,730) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Warwick?
7.6%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Warwick?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Warwick work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Providence (18%, 8 mi), Cranston (9%, 6 mi), North Kingstown (6%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Warwick walkable?
Warwick is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Warwick without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 27% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Warwick, from the people who make the trip.
More of Warwick
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.