Census-designated place · Washington County, Rhode Island
Bradford, Rhode Island
Bradford is a census-designated place in Washington County, Rhode Island, part of the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area. It has 1,511 residents. Bradford, Rhode Island has a quality-of-life score of 98 out of 100 (very high), ranking #383 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Rhode Island it ranks #9 of 27 cities and towns. It ranks best on uninsured residents (under 65) (low), violent crime rate (low) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), new business applications (low) and high school diploma or higher (low).
- Quality-of-life score
- #383 of 15,651 cities and towns
- Rhode Island
- #9 of 27 in RI
- Population
- 1,511 (2020-2024)
- Land area
- 2 mi²
- Density
- 831.4 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 4408020
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.
- Safety96#646/15,637
- Economy84#2,573/15,631
- Housing31#10,351/14,977
- Health95#776/15,609
- Healthcare95#759/15,650
- Environment94#982/15,453
- Education87#2,090/15,649
- Infrastructure63#5,791/15,650
- Community96#574/15,651
- Leisure & amenities96#591/15,651
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Bradford, Rhode Island ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Washington County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.
Strengths
- Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.0%
- Violent crime rate · low38 /100k99/100Rhode Island 144 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationWashington County value
- Mammography screening · high60.0%98/100Rhode Island 56.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value
- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low4.8 µg/m³97/100Rhode Island 5.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWashington County value
- Reading scores · high3.4597/100Rhode Island 3.03United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value
- Arts, entertainment and recreation · high11.6 /10k96/100Rhode Island 7.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWashington County value
Weaknesses
- Rent as share of income · high51.0%2/100Rhode Island 29.2%United States 30.6%2018-2022U.S. Census BureauCensus table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
- New business applications · low8.8 /1k
- High school diploma or higher · low98.1%
- High ozone days · high4 days17/100Rhode Island 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWashington County value
- Public transit commuters · low0.0%
- Days with unhealthy air · high1.1%
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- PopulationRising
1,303 (2015-2019) → 1,511 (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
- Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
7.0% (2015-2019) → 58.4% (2020-2024)
+51 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
- Child poverty rateImproving
46.9% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−47 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
- Rent as share of incomeWorsening
16.5% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2018-2022)
+35 pts3 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.0%
- Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
14.6% (2015-2019) → 39.1% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
- High school diploma or higherImproving
80.9% (2015-2019) → 98.1% (2020-2024)
+17 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
What changed in five years
How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.
Cities and towns like Bradford, Rhode Island five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Bradford, Rhode Island in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.
Who lives here
Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.
Pay in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MALocal businesses
Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.
Federal contracts performed here
Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Bradford is mostly in Washington County.
See federal money in Washington CountyRepresentation in Congress
Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.
County
A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.
Metro area
The metro or micro area the city belongs to.
Other cities and towns in Washington County
Largest first.
Similar cities and towns
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Piney Point, MD57Alike on Household income, No transport, Income per capita
- Bridgetown, MS51Alike on Median age, No transport, Income per capita
- Canton Valley, CT82Alike on Food insecurity, Poor health, No transport
- Leo-Cedarville, IN56Alike on Rent / income, No transport, Property tax
- Northlakes, NC62Alike on No transport, Food insecurity, Poverty
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
- Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement