City · Providence County, Rhode Island

East Providence, Rhode Island

East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, part of the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area. It has 47,281 residents. East Providence, Rhode Island has a quality-of-life score of 73 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,151 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Rhode Island it ranks #22 of 27 cities and towns. It ranks best on distance to an emergency room (low), distance to an Amtrak station (low) and firearm deaths (low). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), loneliness (high) and child care cost burden (high).

73High

Quality-of-life score: #4,151 of 15,651 cities and towns
Rhode Island: #22 of 27 in RI
Population: 47,281 (2020-2024)
Land area: 13 mi²
Density: 3,559.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4422960

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety75#3,849/15,637
Economy38#9,677/15,631
Housing50#7,553/14,977
Health63#5,756/15,609
Healthcare86#2,151/15,650
Environment93#1,121/15,453
Education32#10,630/15,649
Infrastructure72#4,329/15,650
Community48#8,114/15,651
Leisure & amenities82#2,890/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where East Providence, Rhode Island ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Providence 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

Distance to an emergency room · low2.7 mi
96/100Rhode Island 3.4 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesProvidence County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
95/100Rhode Island 7 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauProvidence County value
Firearm deaths · low3.6 /100k
94/100Rhode Island 4.1 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataProvidence County value
Mental health providers · high611 /100k
93/100Rhode Island 541 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteProvidence County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high98.2%
93/100Rhode Island 96.1%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteProvidence County value
Suicide rate · low7.7 /100k
93/100Rhode Island 10.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataProvidence County value

Weaknesses

Time spent in the emergency room · high233 min
7/100Rhode Island 222 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesProvidence County value
Loneliness · high38.3%
9/100Rhode Island 36.0%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Child care cost burden · high39.7%
10/100Rhode Island 32.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteProvidence County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.472
16/100Rhode Island 0.461United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Voter turnout · low58.2%
18/100Rhode Island 63.2%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionProvidence County value
High school diploma or higher · low88.4%
19/100Rhode Island 89.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
0.1 /1k (2021) → 5.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+3,705%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.9% (2015-2019) → 90.2% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.7× (2015-2019) → 4.8× (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$59,142 (2015-2019) → $75,912 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
28.6% (2015-2019) → 31.6% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
High school diploma or higherImproving
85.8% (2015-2019) → 88.4% (2020-2024)
+2.7 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.

Over about five years, East Providence, Rhode Island improved on 2 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+12 points77.9% → 90.2%
Household income+28%$59,142 → $75,912

Declined2

Price / income+1.1×3.7× → 4.8×
Transit use−1.6 points2.8% → 1.2%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of East Providence, Rhode Island between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.2 min2015-2019	22.6 min2020-2024	−1.5 min	Within the margin of error	66%
Bachelor's degree or higher	28.6%2015-2019	31.6%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Broadband subscriptions	77.9%2015-2019	90.2%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	70%
Child poverty rate	10.4%2015-2019	12.9%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Effective property tax rate	1.64%2015-2019	1.24%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	84%
High school diploma or higher	85.8%2015-2019	88.4%2020-2024

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like East Providence, Rhode Island five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of East Providence, 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.

For comparison, East Providence, Rhode Island itself moved +1.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

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).

Age and sex

47,281 residents (±54)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 40–49 men (+1.6 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

47,281 residents (±54)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

White73%34,407
Black5.9%2,778
Hispanic or Latino9.4%4,440

Education

36,463 residents (±819)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

No high school diploma12%4,215
High school or GED33%11,879
Some college15%5,598

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

20,836 households (±746)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $25k16%3,347
$25k–50k19%4,022
$50k–75k14%2,960
$75k–100k12%2,552
$100k–150k16%3,362
$150k–200k12%2,433
$200k or more10%2,160

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−7.2 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

20,836 households (±746)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Own60%12,482
Rent40%8,354

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

8,108 households (±642)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $75024%1,967
$750–1,0008.7%†708
$1,000–1,50030%2,449

Home values

12,482 homes (±687)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $150k5.7%†710
$150k–250k12%1,523
$250k–400k43%5,419

Age of homes

21,921 homes (±719)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

2010 or later3.1%†688
2000–20094.9%†1,067
1980–199912%2,629

Size of homes

21,921 homes (±719)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Studio3.7%†819
1 bedroom17%3,643
2 bedrooms31%6,786

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

23,804 workers (±1,021)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Drive alone74%17,554
Carpool8.8%†2,091
Public transit1.2%†286
Walk1.8%†431
Bike0.5%†113
Work from home12%2,962
Other1.5%†367

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−11.6 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

20,842 workers (±976)

East Providence, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under 15 min34%7,122
15–29 min37%7,773
30–44 min16%3,420

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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-MA

Local 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.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Providence County, the county holding most of East Providence's residents.

Providence County has 16,414 employer establishments, 247 for every 10,000 residents (0.99× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Rhode Island's), with 273,731 paid employees at an average annual pay of $63,100. The Census Bureau also counts 58,378 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 16,414; 58,378 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 247; US 248 · Rhode Island 268
Paid employees: 273,731
Average annual pay: $63,100; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Providence County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	1,453	21.8	1.19×About typical	22,062	$25,688	321
Specialty trade contractors	1,281	19.3	1.24×About typical	8,830	$76,357	3,280
Ambulatory health care services	1,189	17.9	0.86×About typical	19,642	$72,324	2,497
Services to buildings and dwellings	641	9.6	1.43×More than typical	4,023	$50,733	2,999
Lessors of real estate	640	9.6	0.78×Fewer than typical	2,413	$64,576	5,139
Full-service restaurants	618	9.3	1.21×About typical	11,488	$27,974	142
Construction of buildings	586	8.8	1.16×About typical	3,672	$86,422	1,617
Limited-service restaurants	563	8.5	1.05×About typical	6,958	$24,228	119
Legal services	506	7.6	1.41×More than typical	3,170	$96,615	527
Building equipment contractors	490	7.4	1.22×About typical	4,087	$77,070	592
Automotive repair and maintenance	412	6.2	1.23×About typical	2,359	$54,707	594
Offices of other health practitioners	396	6	0.98×About typical	2,307	$60,848	1,335

Rank places for an industry Open Providence County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 665,393 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $3.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in East Providence, Rhode Island: $76.98 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $3.6M; +100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $76.98; US $1,995
Sole-source: 8.5%; US 30%
Single offer: 7.5%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$1.9M53%
Federal Acquisition Service$613.6K17%
Department of the Navy$370.2K10%
United States Mint$276.9K7.6%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$207.6K5.7%
Defense Logistics Agency$133.8K3.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs$122.2K3.4%
National Park Service$5,8440.2%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

3.4MFY2017
7.1MFY2018
7.7MFY2019
9.5MFY2020
11.4MFY2021
3.5MFY2022
4.9MFY2023
1.8M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$2.5M69%
Plastics product manufacturing · 3261$468.1K13%
Industrial machinery manufacturing · 3332$294.4K8.1%
Converted paper product manufacturing · 3222$276.9K7.6%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$161.1K4.4%
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing · 3344

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in East Providence, Rhode Island

REMEDIAL ACTION AT RUMFORD RIFLE RANGE, RI$6.3M
WESTON SOLUTIONS INC· Providence County, RI· Facilities & utilities· Sep 18, 2021 – Apr 21, 2026· W912DR21F0360
SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH, DIRECT TO PHASE II TOPIC A254-P026, XTECHPACIFIC OPEN TOPIC$2M
HAVOCAI INC.· Providence County, RI· Research & development· Mar 9, 2026 – May 20, 2026· W5170126CA043
8511182820!SEAL,NONMETALLIC SP$119.5K
AAR SUPPLY CHAIN, INC· Providence County, RI· Other equipment & supplies· Feb 12, 2025 – Dec 10, 2025· SPE7L325F1395
VISN 2 PIV SUPPLIES

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in East Providence, Rhode Island, so they do not add up across cities.

East Providence, Rhode Island's figures are part of those of Providence County, RI ($106.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 3.4% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: East Providence is mostly in Providence County.

See federal money in Providence County

Representation 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.

East Providence, Rhode Island is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Providence County73100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA80

Other cities and towns in Providence County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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

JSON · /api/v1/places/4422960

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends