Census-designated place · Newport County, Rhode Island

Melville, Rhode Island

Melville is a census-designated place in Newport County, Rhode Island, part of the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area. It has 1,631 residents. Melville, Rhode Island has a quality-of-life score of 99 out of 100 (very high), ranking #80 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Rhode Island it ranks #3 of 27 cities and towns. It ranks best on traffic deaths (low), mammography screening (high) and poverty rate (low). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), high school diploma or higher (low) and new business applications (low).

99Very high

Quality-of-life score: #80 of 15,651 cities and towns
Rhode Island: #3 of 27 in RI
Population: 1,631 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 777.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 4445010

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety97#422/15,637
Economy79#3,309/15,631
Housing—
Health90#1,603/15,609
Healthcare94#866/15,650
Environment100#14/15,453
Education81#2,988/15,649
Infrastructure75#3,860/15,650
Community79#3,343/15,651
Leisure & amenities96#578/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Traffic deaths · low3.8 /100k
99/100Rhode Island 5.5 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataNewport County value
Mammography screening · high60.0%
98/100Rhode Island 56.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNewport County value
Poverty rate · low1.5%
98/100Rhode Island 12.0%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high13.6 /10k
97/100Rhode Island 7.1 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNewport County value
Restaurants and bars · high17.1 /10k
97/100Rhode Island 12.0 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNewport County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.4 /10k
97/100Rhode Island 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNewport County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high22.7 /100k
13/100Rhode Island 10.4 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataNewport County value
High school diploma or higher · low100.0%
14/100Rhode Island 89.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
New business applications · low10.1 /1k
25/100Rhode Island 10.6 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauNewport County value
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100Rhode Island 1.7%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
High ozone days · high2 days
28/100Rhode Island 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyNewport County value
Child care cost burden · high32.1%
35/100Rhode Island 32.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNewport County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,276 (2015-2019) → 1,631 (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
11.5% (2015-2019) → 0.2% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$65,667 (2015-2019) → $102,266 (2020-2024)
+56%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
54.1% (2015-2019) → 59.5% (2020-2024)
+5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateImproving
7.0% (2015-2019) → 1.6% (2020-2024)
−5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsWorsening
95.3% (2015-2019) → 90.4% (2020-2024)
−4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Melville, Rhode Island improved on 0 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Melville, Rhode Island between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.0 min2015-2019	14.4 min2020-2024	+2.4 min	Within the margin of error	24%
Bachelor's degree or higher	54.1%2015-2019	59.5%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Broadband subscriptions	95.3%2015-2019	90.4%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	2%
High school diploma or higher	98.5%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3262015-2019	0.3132020-2024	−0.013	Within the margin of error	62%
Median household income	$65,6672015-2019	$102,2662020-2024	+56%	Within the margin of error	88%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	34.9%2015-2019	31.7%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Rent-burdened households	58.4%2015-2019	59.8%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%

“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 Melville, Rhode Island five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Melville, 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, Melville, Rhode Island itself moved −1.6 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

1,631 residents (±464)

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: 20–29 men (+9.5 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

1,631 residents (±464)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

White43%†706
Black5.4%†88
Hispanic or Latino24%†

Education

968 residents (±279)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

No high school diploma0.0%0
High school or GED18%†175
Some college13%†126

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

501 households (±158)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $25k4.8%†24
$25k–50k2.4%†12
$50k–75k26%†130
$75k–100k8.2%†41
$100k–150k29%†147
$150k–200k19%†97
$200k or more10.0%†50

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−24.7 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

501 households (±158)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Own4.6%†23
Rent95%†478

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

478 households (±150)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $7506.9%†33
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,5003.1%†15

Home values

23 homes (±37)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under $150k0.0%0
$150k–250k0.0%0
$250k–400k0.0%0

Age of homes

586 homes (±162)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

2010 or later0.0%0
2000–200920%†119
1980–199918%†108

Size of homes

586 homes (±162)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Studio3.8%†22
1 bedroom1.4%†8
2 bedrooms16%†92

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

789 workers (±287)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Drive alone92%†726
Carpool4.2%†33
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.8%†14
Bike0.0%0
Work from home2.0%†16
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

773 workers (±287)

Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island share

Under 15 min60%†466
15–29 min27%†210
30–44 min6.2%†

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 Newport County, the county holding most of Melville's residents.

Newport County has 2,800 employer establishments, 334 for every 10,000 residents (1.35× the US rate of 248; 1.25× Rhode Island's), with 32,182 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,875. The Census Bureau also counts 8,717 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,800; 8,717 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 334; US 248 · Rhode Island 268
Paid employees: 32,182
Average annual pay: $58,875; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	262	31.3	1.70×More than typical	4,337	$34,413	22
Specialty trade contractors	192	22.9	1.48×More than typical	1,009	$65,984	577
Construction of buildings	144	17.2	2.27×More than typical	698	$67,572	209
Full-service restaurants	133	15.9	2.07×More than typical	2,988	$37,998	7
Services to buildings and dwellings	122	14.6	2.16×More than typical	468	$58,541	343
Ambulatory health care services	113	13.5	0.65×Fewer than typical	1,381	$66,084	428
Lessors of real estate	109	13	1.06×About typical	526	$76,179	1,293
Landscaping services	97	11.6	3.31×More than typical	369	$64,409	142
Building equipment contractors	87	10.4	1.73×More than typical	487	$66,370	83
Clothing and accessories stores	84	10	2.77×More than typical	570	$30,016	82
Limited-service restaurants	84	10	1.25×More than typical	869	$25,628	12
Architectural, engineering and related services	72	8.6	2.47×More than typical	1,033	$84,359	125

Rank places for an industry Open Newport County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 83,734 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 $8.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Melville, Rhode Island: $5,308 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $8.7M; +29% vs FY2025
Per resident: $5,308; US $1,994
Sole-source: 9.4%; US 30%
Single offer: 70%; 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 Navy$8.5M98%
Federal Prison Industries / Unicor$78.2K0.9%
Defense Logistics Agency$71.9K0.8%
Defense Microelectronics Activity$67K0.8%
Environmental Protection Agency$25.3K0.3%
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention$4,7160.1%
Department of Veterans Affairs$3,6590.0%
Defense Information Systems Agency$3,6190.0%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

9.1MFY2017
10.8MFY2018
11.5MFY2019
14.7MFY2020
13.2MFY2021
10.3MFY2022
8.4MFY2023
9.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$4.6M53%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$1.9M22%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$997.5K12%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$921K11%
Textile and fabric finishing and fabric coating mills · 3133$100.2K1.2%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 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 Melville, Rhode Island, so they do not add up across cities.

Melville, Rhode Island's figures are part of those of Newport County, RI ($586.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Newport 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.

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

House

Gabe AmoD-RI-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.1%

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.

Newport County99100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA80

Other cities and towns in Newport 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/4445010

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends