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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Career-launching requires a city that pays well and has employer depth. We analyzed 1 cities in Rhode Island. Providence: index 128, income $66,772, transport index 107.
190,792 residents · Rhode Island
Here's Providence by the numbers — and there's a lot to like. And in most cases, cost index: 128. Rent: $2,187/month. Income: $66,772/year. Home price: $420,051. Population: 190,792. The strongest category is Healthcare at 106; the most expensive is Housing at 128. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are costing renters $3,504 more per year vs. the national median. The data here speaks for itself.
#1 Ranked: Providence — cost index 128, rent $2,187/mo, income $66,772
Young-professional scoring: income $66,772, population 190,792 (job market depth), transport index 107
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Providence | 128 | $2,187 | Details |
Career-launching requires a city that pays well and has employer depth. We analyzed 1 cities in Rhode Island. Providence: index 128, income $66,772, transport index 107.
A closer look at Providence: the cost index of 128 breaks down to a Healthcare index of 106 (strongest category) and a Housing index of 128 (weakest). Median rent is $2,187/month — 15% above the national median — while household income sits at $66,772, meaning locals spend about 39% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
Against the national baseline, though: Here's the state-level backdrop: Rhode Island averages a 128 cost index, $2,187/mo rent, and $66,772 income across 1 cities. That's $292 more than the national rent average. Smallest state, New England price tag — and that context shapes every city in this ranking.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to young professionals. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Rhode Island by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Providence ranks #1 in Rhode Island for this analysis with a cost index of 128 and median income of $66,772.
Providence scores highest for young professionals due to its strong income potential, median rent of $2,187/mo, and competitive median income of $66,772.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Providence is $2,187/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $292 above the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Providence is $420,051, which is 6.3× the local median income. Most median-income households would stretch to buy at this ratio. The national median home price is $467,370.
Rhode Island has a 5.99% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.24%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.