Photo: Marcbela · Public domainWest Warwick has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
7,583 jobs are based in West Warwick for 14,932 working residents. West Warwick grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.2 in Providence.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets West Warwick apart on work
West Warwick’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Warwick is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #26 of 38 in Rhode Island. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Warwick could be anywhere from B− to A−.
West Warwick quiets down on a workday
On a workday 13,778 residents head out to work, 1,154 work right here, and 6,429 people come in from elsewhere.
About 24,000 people are in West Warwick on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
17% of working residents work in Warwick
Where West Warwick clocks in
17% of workers
15% 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 kinds of work in West Warwick
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Warwick, 2013 → 2023: 6,336 → 7,583. 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 West Warwick’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from West Warwick: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Warwick workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 15,953 commuters (the 7% 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 commute from West Warwick, by distance
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: West Warwick
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Warwick is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns, #18 of 38 in Rhode Island. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 17,199 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 83% 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 2.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 69% 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). 10.3% of West Warwick households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of West Warwick’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 1,368 U.S. towns of 22,000 to 43,000, West Warwick comes 731st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Cumberland RI | 37,615 | $118K | 3.9% | 3.0% | 11% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 312 | North Kingstown RI | 27,885 | $126K | 6.1% | 3.4% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 558 | Coventry RI | 36,281 | $103K | 7.4% | 4.5% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 729 | San Gabriel CA | 38,186 | $90K | 10.6% | 5.9% | 8% | B+ |
| 730 | Kearns UT | 35,404 | $87K | 7.6% | 6.2% | 2% | B+ |
| 731 | West Warwick RI | 31,487 | $78K | 9.6% | 4.2% | 8% | B+ |
| 732 | Merritt Island FL | 34,992 | $94K | 7.4% | 4.1% | 10% | B+ |
| 733 | Cicero NY | 30,815 | $96K | 10.5% | 4.5% | 10% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,368 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 West Warwick, the top three, the last and three more from Rhode Island.
31% of West Warwick works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Warwick (17%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Warwick workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Warwick | – | B+ | A− | 25 min | $77,608 |
| Warwick | 17% | B+ | B+ | 25 min | $88,708 |
| Coventry | 4% | A− | B− | 26 min | $102,946 |
| Cranston | 7% | B | A− | 24 min | $90,206 |
| East Greenwich | 3% | A | A− | 25 min | $177,090 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West 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 West Warwick: questions
What is the median household income in West Warwick?
$77,608 (±$6,727) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Warwick?
9.6%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Warwick?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Warwick work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Warwick (17%, 6 mi), Providence (15%, 11 mi), North Kingstown (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Warwick walkable?
West Warwick is more walkable than 76% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Warwick without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 27% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Warwick, from the people who make the trip.
More of West 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.