Census-designated place · Washington County, Rhode Island

Kingston, Rhode Island

Kingston is a census-designated place in Washington County, Rhode Island, part of the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area. It has 7,332 residents. Kingston, Rhode Island has a quality-of-life score of 99 out of 100 (very high), ranking #121 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Rhode Island it ranks #6 of 27 cities and towns. It ranks best on broadband subscriptions (high), violent crime rate (low) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), unemployment rate (high) and high ozone days (high).

99Very high

Quality-of-life score: #121 of 15,651 cities and towns
Rhode Island: #6 of 27 in RI
Population: 7,332 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 4,710.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4438980

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety96#646/15,637
Economy65#5,425/15,631
Housing40#8,941/14,977
Health92#1,222/15,609
Healthcare95#801/15,650
Environment94#982/15,453
Education94#865/15,649
Infrastructure100#40/15,650
Community97#498/15,651
Leisure & amenities96#591/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Kingston, 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

Broadband subscriptions · high100.0%
99/100Rhode Island 91.7%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Violent crime rate · low38 /100k
99/100Rhode 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/m³
97/100Rhode Island 5.8 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWashington County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.9%
97/100Rhode Island 5.3%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Reading scores · high3.45
97/100Rhode Island 3.03United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low8.8 /1k
13/100Rhode Island 10.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauWashington County value
Unemployment rate · high8.4%
15/100Rhode Island 4.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
High ozone days · high4 days
17/100Rhode Island 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWashington County value
Home price to income ratio · high5.2×
18/100Rhode Island 4.6×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
High school diploma or higher · low98.7%
19/100Rhode Island 89.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Days with unhealthy air · high1.1%
33/100Rhode Island 0.3%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWashington County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
6,513 (2015-2019) → 7,332 (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
82.9% (2015-2019) → 51.5% (2020-2024)
−31 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
12.1% (2015-2019) → 1.8% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
9.9% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
90.6% (2015-2019) → 100.0% (2020-2024)
+9.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
51.0% (2015-2019) → 42.1% (2020-2024)
−8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Kingston, Rhode Island improved on 2 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 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

Unemployment−5 points13.4% → 8.4%
Property tax−0.5 points1.39% → 0.85%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Kingston, Rhode Island between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.5 min2015-2019	18.4 min2020-2024	+2.0 min	Within the margin of error	27%
Bachelor's degree or higher	68.4%2015-2019	77.0%2020-2024	+8.6 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Broadband subscriptions	90.6%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	+9.4 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Effective property tax rate	1.39%2015-2019	0.85%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	92%
High school diploma or higher	97.6%2015-2019	98.7%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Home price to income ratio	3.7×2015-2019	5.2×2020-2024	+1.5×	Within the margin of error	10%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4552015-2019	0.4142020-2024	−0.041	Within the margin of error	80%
Median household income	$96,7752015-2019	$107,4042020-2024	+11%	Within the margin of error	18%
Unemployment rate	13.4%2015-2019	8.4%2020-2024	−5 points	Improved	96%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

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 Kingston, Rhode Island five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Kingston, 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, Kingston, Rhode Island itself moved +5.6 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

7,332 residents (±478)

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: 10–19 men (−5.0 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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

7,332 residents (±478)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

White78%5,755
Black5.0%366
Hispanic or Latino9.3%680

Education

1,256 residents (±304)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

No high school diploma1.3%†16
High school or GED11%†141
Some college3.0%

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

675 households (±155)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $25k1.6%†11
$25k–50k14%†94
$50k–75k22%†147
$75k–100k11%†73
$100k–150k24%†164
$150k–200k14%†93
$200k or more14%†93

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−14.2 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 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

675 households (±155)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Own82%553
Rent18%†122

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

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

Table view

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

Rent paid

101 households (±86)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $75014%†14
$750–1,0003.0%†3
$1,000–1,50039%†

Home values

553 homes (±152)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $150k4.2%†23
$150k–250k0.0%0
$250k–400k1.8%†10

Age of homes

716 homes (±158)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

2010 or later8.2%†59
2000–20091.8%†13
1980–199935%†

Size of homes

716 homes (±158)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom11%†76
2 bedrooms7.3%†52

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

2,471 workers (±330)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Drive alone48%1,177
Carpool6.2%†154
Public transit1.9%†46
Walk33%808
Bike0.0%0
Work from home12%†286
Other0.0%0

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

† 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

2,185 workers (±331)

Kingston, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under 15 min49%1,081
15–29 min25%†546
30–44 min15%†333

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 Washington County, the county holding most of Kingston's residents.

Washington County has 3,799 employer establishments, 292 for every 10,000 residents (1.18× the US rate of 248; 1.09× Rhode Island's), with 46,113 paid employees at an average annual pay of $63,478. The Census Bureau also counts 12,675 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,799; 12,675 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 292; US 248 · Rhode Island 268
Paid employees: 46,113
Average annual pay: $63,478; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	345	26.5	1.44×More than typical	5,108	$30,890	26
Specialty trade contractors	319	24.5	1.58×More than typical	1,448	$67,326	919
Ambulatory health care services	234	18	0.86×About typical	3,038	$78,459	702
Services to buildings and dwellings	219	16.8	2.50×More than typical	742	$65,938	608
Construction of buildings	189	14.5	1.92×More than typical	805	$73,925	411
Landscaping services	176	13.5	3.86×More than typical	608	$70,097	263
Full-service restaurants	169	13	1.69×More than typical	3,120	$35,269	16
Lessors of real estate	133	10.2	0.83×About typical	456	$46,316	1,762
Building equipment contractors	132	10.1	1.69×More than typical	631	$71,762	125
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	97	7.5	2.80×More than typical	1,074	$42,466	108
Limited-service restaurants	94	7.2	0.90×About typical	907	$25,847	7
Other amusement and recreation industries	93	7.1	2.95×More than typical	1,032	$42,109	99

Rank places for an industry Open Washington County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 130,151 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 $297K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Kingston, Rhode Island: $40.51 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $297K; −1.3% vs FY2025
Per resident: $40.51; US $1,995
Sole-source: 59%; US 30%
Single offer: 18%; 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

Food and Drug Administration$148.2K50%
Department of the Army$75.3K25%
U.S. Coast Guard$50K17%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$10.3K3.5%
Smithsonian Institution$9,3963.2%
Department of the Navy$8,4032.8%
Department of Veterans Affairs$3440.1%

Top recipients

RI DEPT. OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE DEVEL$148.2K50%
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND$76.9K26%
BLUEWATER MANAGEMENT GROUP LLC$50K17%
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND$9,3963.2%
UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND$6,5112.2%

Spending by fiscal year

320.7KFY2017
301KFY2018
256.9KFY2019
106KFY2020
196.1KFY2021
252.1KFY2022
383.3KFY2023
229.9K

Top industries (NAICS)

Administration of human resource programs · 9231$148.2K50%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$74.9K25%
Ship and boat building · 3366$50K17%
Colleges, universities, and professional schools · 6113$15.9K5.4%
Software publishers · 5132$5,7891.9%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Kingston, Rhode Island, so they do not add up across cities.

Kingston, Rhode Island's figures are part of those of Washington County, RI ($53.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.6% of that total.

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

See federal money in Washington 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.

Kingston, Rhode Island is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Seth MagazinerD-RI-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 95%Missed 2.8%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

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

Washington County99100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA80

Other cities and towns in Washington 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
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/4438980

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends