Top 10 Cheapest Places to Live in Rhode Island in 2026
October 02, 2026
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This article was originally published on July 26, 2024 and updated in October 2026
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country, but its housing costs are anything but small. The statewide median sale price reached $532,781 in August 2026, up 6.6% from a year earlier, while the number of homes sold slipped 2.7% (Redfin). HousingWorks RI’s latest Housing Fact Book estimated that a household needed $158,263 a year to afford the state’s 2024 median single-family price of $475,000, and it found no city or town where a household earning the statewide median could comfortably buy.
So in Rhode Island, “cheap” has to be measured against paychecks, not just price tags. For this guide we compared each community’s median sale price with what its households actually earn, estimated the income needed to carry a median-priced home at October 2026 mortgage rates, and ranked places by the gap between the two. The ten places below are where that gap is smallest, from the northwest-corner villages of Burrillville to the Narragansett Bay suburbs, the Sakonnet shore and the rural towns along I-95.
Key Takeaways
Pascoag (+$11,351) and Burrillville (+$21,881) have the smallest income gaps in the state, thanks to local median household incomes of roughly $120,000.
Every place on the list still shows a positive income gap, meaning the typical local household earns less than our model requires. No Rhode Island community clears the bar outright.
North Providence ($418,272) and West Warwick ($429,716) have the lowest prices in the top 10, but lower local incomes keep them in the middle of the affordability ranking.
Tiverton is the priciest place on the list ($537,145) yet ranks 7th, helped by the lowest effective property tax rate in our model and the least competitive market in the group.
All ten median prices sit below both the 2026 conforming loan limit ($832,750) and Rhode Island’s 2026 FHA limit ($541,287).
Methodology
We evaluated homebuying affordability by comparing median home sale prices with local median household incomes across Rhode Island cities, towns and villages.
Home prices come from Redfin’s housing market pages for all home types, with price summaries covering the three months ending August 2026. For North Providence, Redfin’s most recent available summary covered the three months ending June 2026. To qualify, a place needed at least 10 homes sold in the latest month Redfin reported. Local incomes use the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey five-year estimates, as reported by Data USA and, for towns Data USA does not profile, by Census QuickFacts. These income figures are historical estimates, rather than measurements of 2026 earnings.
For each community, we estimated the monthly cost of buying a median-priced home using a 20% down payment, a 30-year fixed mortgage and the interest rate, property-tax and insurance assumptions detailed in the table below. We then calculated the gross annual income needed to keep that payment at 28% of household income.
Places are ranked by their income gap:
Income gap = Estimated required annual income − Local median household income
A smaller gap indicates a smaller estimated income shortfall. A negative gap would mean local median household income exceeds the modeled income target; none of the ten Rhode Island places reach that point. The separate price rank orders these ten places from the lowest to the highest median sale price.
This comparison includes cities, towns and villages (census-designated places). Pascoag is a village within the town of Burrillville and Valley Falls is a village within Cumberland, so their figures describe those villages specifically. The comparison does not measure total living costs or guarantee mortgage eligibility. HOA fees, utilities, maintenance and closing costs are excluded, and small-market prices and income estimates can fluctuate.
Rhode Island Affordability Ranking: Top 10 for 2026
Home Prices vs. Local Incomes in Rhode Island’s 10 Most Affordable Places
Data periods. Prices are Redfin medians for all home types over the three months ending August 2026, except North Providence (three months ending June 2026). The list includes cities, towns and villages. Pascoag is within Burrillville; Valley Falls is within Cumberland.
Financing assumptions. 20% down, a 30-year fixed mortgage and 7.28% interest. Principal and interest were calculated using these assumptions.
¹ Estimated monthly payment. Principal, interest, estimated property taxes and homeowners insurance. We applied county effective tax rates of 1.09% for Providence, 1.22% for Kent, 0.87% for Washington and 0.78% for Newport, plus annual insurance equal to 0.793% of the purchase price. HOA fees, maintenance, utilities and closing costs are excluded.
³ Local median household income. U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 five-year estimates, linked through Data USA or Census QuickFacts.
⁴ Income gap. Required annual income minus local median household income. Every gap here is positive, indicating an estimated income shortfall. Places are ranked from the smallest gap to the largest.
The 10 Most Affordable places to Live in Rhode Island
1. Pascoag (Providence County)
Median sale price: $439,709
Affordability rank: 1
Price rank: 3
Pascoag comes closest to closing the affordability gap in Rhode Island. Its median household income of $121,369 is the highest in this top 10, while its median sale price of $439,709 for the three months ending August 2026 is the third lowest. With 20% down (about $87,900), we estimate a monthly payment of $3,097: $2,407 in principal and interest, $399 in property tax and $291 in insurance. That requires about $132,720 a year, only $11,351 more than the typical local household earns.
Pascoag is one of eight villages that make up the town of Burrillville, with 4,641 residents in the 2020 census. It grew into a textile center in the 1800s, powered by the Pascoag River as it drops about 60 feet through the village after leaving Pascoag Reservoir. The village is also served by its own municipal electric company, the Pascoag Utility District, which sets its rates through the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission.
The market is small and fast. Only 14 homes sold in August, and the median home sold in 12 days, down from 21 a year earlier. About half of sales closed above list price, and the median price per square foot fell 14.9% year over year.
Burrillville as a whole, including Pascoag and its other villages, ranks second. Its median household income is $119,813, and its median sale price of $469,439 is down 2.4% from a year earlier. At our assumptions, a buyer would need about $141,694 a year, leaving a gap of $21,881. For context, HousingWorks RI put the town’s 2024 median single-family price at $434,000.
Lower prices have not meant less competition. Burrillville homes sold for 103.1% of list price on average, and 68.1% sold above list, the highest share in this top 10. The median home sold in 22 days, compared with 30 a year earlier. The town’s FY 2026 residential tax rate is $11.90 per $1,000 of assessed value, and its total levy grew 3.66%, under the state’s 4% cap.
Burrillville is Rhode Island’s forested northwest corner. In December 2024 the state bought 942 acres from the Rhode Island Boy Scouts for $1.6 million, adding to the existing 2,200-acre Buck Hill Management Area in the state’s largest land-conservation deal in a decade. Unemployment stood at 3.2% in May 2026, slightly below the statewide 3.3%.
North Smithfield pairs a $108,866 median household income with a median sale price of $479,683, which is 4.9% lower than a year ago and the largest annual price decline in this top 10. A median-priced home here needs about $144,786 in income, a gap of $35,920.
The market is cooling noticeably. Only 39.1% of homes sold above list price in the three months ending August, down 22 percentage points from a year earlier, and the median time on market rose to 24 days from 19. Sales volume is up, though, with 42 homes sold in August, 16.8% more than last year. That combination of more sales and less bidding is unusual in Rhode Island and gives buyers room to negotiate.
Coventry offers depth that the smaller towns above cannot. Redfin recorded 186 sales in August, up 16.8% from a year earlier, at a median price of $471,188, up 4.7%. The town’s median household income is $102,946, putting the required income at $144,410 and the gap at $41,464.
Kent County carries the highest effective property tax rate in our model (1.22%), which adds about $479 a month to the estimated payment. Coventry’s FY 2026 nominal residential rate is $16.09 per $1,000, though its levy grew a modest 2.78%. HousingWorks RI estimated the town’s 2024 median single-family price at $410,000 and the income needed to buy it at $140,262.
Coventry is home to the western end of the Washington Secondary Bike Path, Rhode Island’s longest at 19 miles. Its 4.8-mile Trestle Trail segment ends at Log Bridge Road in western Coventry. The local job market is solid, with May 2026 unemployment at 2.7%, the second lowest in this top 10.
North Providence has the lowest median sale price in this top 10, $418,272 for the three months ending June 2026, the latest period Redfin had published at our cutoff. It also has the lowest required income on the list, about $126,250. With a median household income of $83,756, the gap is $42,494.
The town is compact at about 5.8 square miles and was incorporated in 1765. Its villages include Centredale, Fruit Hill, Marieville and Lymansville. Governor Notte Park offers sports fields, a freshwater beach and a campground, and part of Rhode Island College sits within town limits. Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence was sold in March 2026, alongside Roger Williams Medical Center, to the nonprofit Centurion Foundation after its previous owner’s bankruptcy. The state attorney general said the hospitals would remain open.
Buyers should look closely at taxes. North Providence’s FY 2026 residential rate of $17.58 per $1,000 is the highest nominal rate in this group, although its total levy grew only 1.78%. Competition is strong: 62.6% of homes sold above list, and the median home sold in 20 days.
Warwick is the most liquid market in this top 10, with 346 homes sold in August, up 5.4% from a year earlier. The median sale price of $448,703 is up 4.3%, while the median price per square foot fell 4.6%. Local median household income is $88,708, so a buyer needs about $137,518 a year, a gap of $48,810.
Warwick offers more amenities than any other town on the list. Kent Hospital is a 359-bed acute care hospital, the second largest in Rhode Island, and is building a 90,000-square-foot ambulatory services building and an expanded emergency department, with completion expected in March 2028. Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport served more than 4 million passengers in 2024 and offers 38 nonstop destinations. CCRI’s Knight Campus sits on 205 acres next to Routes 95 and 295.
The city also has two major waterfront state parks. Goddard Memorial State Park covers nearly 490 acres on Greenwich Bay, and Rocky Point State Park, the former amusement park site that reopened as a state park in 2014, offers 120 acres of trails, fishing and picnic areas. Each June, Pawtuxet Village, which straddles the Warwick–Cranston line, hosts Gaspee Days, an annual celebration since 1965 that marked its 61st year in 2026. Warwick’s FY 2026 residential tax rate is $12.70 per $1,000.
Tiverton has the highest median sale price on this list, $537,145, up 18.1% from a year earlier, yet it ranks seventh because of two advantages. Its median household income is $106,036, and Newport County has the lowest effective property tax rate in our model at 0.78%. Tiverton’s nominal FY 2026 rate, $11.33 per $1,000, is also the lowest in this group. The required income is about $156,183, a gap of $50,147.
Tiverton is also the least competitive market in the top 10. Redfin rates it “Somewhat Competitive” (Compete Score 63), with homes selling at 99.4% of list price and a median 32 days on market, up from 17 a year earlier. Its median price sits just under Rhode Island’s 2026 FHA loan limit of $541,287.
Tiverton sits along the Sakonnet River and is known for its open space. Fort Barton and Highland Woods cover 98 acres with Revolutionary War earthworks and an observation tower overlooking the Sakonnet and Mount Hope Bay. Weetamoo Woods offers 655 acres and 6.5 miles of trails, and Fogland Beach has seasonal lifeguards and a playground.
West Warwick has the second-lowest price in the top 10, a median of $429,716, up 3.0% from a year earlier. It also has the lowest local median household income on the list, $77,608, which explains why it ranks eighth. A buyer needs about $131,699 a year, a gap of $54,091.
It is also the most competitive market in this top 10. Redfin labels West Warwick “Most Competitive” (Compete Score 91). Homes sold for 102.1% of list price on average, and 66.8% sold above list, even though August sales fell 27.3% from a year earlier. In other words, fewer homes are coming to market and buyers are still bidding.
West Warwick split from Warwick in 1913, making it Rhode Island’s youngest town. Its mill villages, including Arctic, Riverpoint, Natick, Phenix and Crompton, grew along the Pawtuxet River, and the Fruit of the Loom trademark began at the town’s Royal Mill. The Washington Secondary Bike Path runs through town as the West Warwick Greenway, and Kent Hospital is just across the line in Warwick. Unemployment was 3.1% in May 2026.
Hopkinton is the only Washington County community on the list. Its median sale price is $517,158, up 4.5%, and its median household income is $97,172. A lower effective tax rate of 0.87% helps, but the required income of about $152,034 leaves a gap of $54,862.
Hopkinton has the gentlest bidding in this top 10. Only 37.6% of homes sold above list price, the lowest share in the group, and the median home sold in 31 days, faster than 36 a year ago. The local economy is strong: Hopkinton’s May 2026 unemployment rate of 2.2% was the lowest of any town on the list.
Hopkinton was incorporated in 1757 and includes the villages of Ashaway, Hope Valley, Rockville, Bradford and Hopkinton City. It is the first Rhode Island town northbound drivers reach on I-95, and two of the Chariho Regional School District’s four elementary schools are in Hope Valley and Ashaway. Part of the Arcadia Management Area, the largest in Rhode Island at more than 14,000 acres with over a dozen hiking trails, lies within the town.
Valley Falls, a village in the southern part of Cumberland, rounds out the top 10. Its median sale price of $499,669 was essentially flat year over year (−0.07%), and its median household income is $92,901. The required income is about $150,819, leaving a gap of $57,918.
Flat prices do not mean a slow market. Redfin labels Valley Falls “Most Competitive” (Compete Score 91). Sales jumped to 42 in August from 20 a year earlier, 58.6% of homes sold above list price, and the median home sold in 21 days.
Valley Falls had 12,094 residents in the 2020 census. The Blackstone River runs along its western and southern edges, and it borders Central Falls and Attleboro, Massachusetts. The off-road section of the Blackstone River Bikeway begins near Cumberland Town Hall and Valley Falls Park. Cumberland’s FY 2026 residential tax rate is $12.27 per $1,000, and the town’s May 2026 unemployment rate was 2.6%.
Factors That Contribute to Affordability in Rhode Island in 2026
Home prices relative to local incomes
Price alone does not make a place affordable. Rhode Island’s statewide single-family median reached $500,000 in 2025, up 75% from 2019, while the state’s median household income was $86,372. The places that rank highest here, Pascoag and Burrillville, do so because local incomes near $120,000 offset mid-$400,000 prices. North Providence and West Warwick have lower prices, but lower incomes leave larger gaps.
Mortgage rates
Rates moved against buyers in the weeks before publication. Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed average was 6.71% on September 3, 2026 and reached 7.28% by October 1. Our ranking uses 7.28%. The same ten places make the list when we rerun the model at 7.03% or 7.53%, but every quarter point changes the monthly payment, so buyers should get updated quotes before making offers.
Property taxes
Rhode Island property taxes vary widely from town to town. Among this top 10, FY 2026 residential rates range from $11.33 per $1,000 in Tiverton and $11.50 in North Smithfield to $16.09 in Coventry and $17.58 in North Providence. State law generally caps annual levy growth at 4%; statewide, levies rose 3.69% to $2.77 billion for FY 2026. Assessments often lag market values, so the actual tax bill on a specific home can differ from our county-based estimate.
Homeowners insurance
Insurance is a smaller cost in Rhode Island than in many states. The average premium is $2,379 a year for $300,000 of dwelling coverage, below the national average of $2,872. Coastal homes, including some in Warwick and Tiverton, can cost more to insure, especially once hurricane deductibles are factored in.
Down payment and closing cost assistance
State programs can bridge part of the gap for first-time buyers. RIHousing’s Extra Assistance provides up to 6% of the purchase price or $20,000, whichever is lower. Its 15kDPA program offers a $15,000, 0% interest loan with no monthly payments, due when the home is sold or no longer the primary residence. FirstGenHomeRI provides a $25,000 grant, forgiven after five years, for first-generation buyers who live in Central Falls, East Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, parts of Providence or a Newport census tract. The RI REALTORS Homebuyer Grant is closed for now because its funds have been fully reserved. These programs require a RIHousing-funded first mortgage. In 2025, 1,465 first-time buyers financed through RIHousing, almost one in seven Rhode Island mortgages, and 95% of them also received down payment assistance. Their average household income was $97,931 and the median home value was $424,000.
Jobs and commuting
Rhode Island’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.9% in July 2026, with 513,900 nonfarm jobs. Locally, May 2026 unemployment ranged from 2.2% in Hopkinton to 3.6% in North Providence, compared with 3.3% statewide. Most of the top 10 sit close to I-95 or I-295, and Warwick’s T. F. Green airport offers 38 nonstop destinations, which helps commuters and remote workers who travel.
Loan limits
The 2026 conforming loan limit is $832,750, and Rhode Island’s 2026 FHA limit is $541,287 in every county. Every median price in this top 10 falls under both, so most buyers can use standard conforming or government financing. Tiverton’s median sits closest to the FHA ceiling.
Competition and out-of-state demand
Statewide, 45.4% of homes sold above list price in August 2026, and inventory stood at about two months of supply. Out-of-state buyers made up 23% of Rhode Island purchases in 2025, up from 18% in 2019, and more than half of them came from Massachusetts. That demand is strongest in border towns such as Burrillville, North Smithfield and Valley Falls.
Living costs beyond the mortgage
Housing is only one part of the budget. United Way of Rhode Island’s 2026 ALICE report found that 43% of the state’s households were below the basic cost-of-living threshold in 2024. It puts the survival budget for a family of four at $111,000 a year, including $1,989 a month for housing. Every top-10 place requires more than $126,000 in income to buy at the median price, so budgeting for utilities, maintenance and reserves matters as much as qualifying for the loan.
Quality of Life in Rhode Island’s Affordable Towns
Affordability matters most when it comes with access to schools, healthcare, open space and community. Here is how the top 10 measure up in 2026.
Education
Statewide, 33.7% of Rhode Island students in grades 3–8 met or exceeded expectations in English and 31.4% in math on the 2025 RICAS tests, and chronic absenteeism fell to 22.1% from 24.7%. Results vary by district, so families should review local report cards. Hopkinton students attend the regional Chariho district, which has elementary schools in Hope Valley and Ashaway. For higher education, the Community College of Rhode Island has its Knight Campus in Warwick and its Flanagan Campus in Lincoln, near Valley Falls and North Smithfield. Through the Rhode Island Promise program, eligible recent high school graduates can earn an associate degree at CCRI tuition-free. Part of Rhode Island College sits in North Providence.
Healthcare
Kent Hospital in Warwick, Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital with 359 beds, serves about 300,000 central Rhode Island residents and handles about 55,000 emergency visits a year. Its expansion is scheduled for completion in March 2028. That makes it the closest major hospital for Warwick, West Warwick and Coventry. In North Providence, Our Lady of Fatima Hospital was sold to the Centurion Foundation in March 2026, with state officials saying it would remain open. Northern towns such as Burrillville, Pascoag and North Smithfield are served by Landmark Medical Center in nearby Woonsocket, operated by the nonprofit Prime Healthcare Foundation.
Many of these towns grew up around 19th-century mills, and that history still shapes them. Slatersville in North Smithfield is preserved as America’s first planned mill village, and West Warwick’s villages of Arctic, Riverpoint, Natick, Phenix and Crompton still center on their mill buildings. Pascoag’s village center grew around the falls of the Pascoag River. Community traditions run deep as well: Gaspee Days in Pawtuxet Village marked its 61st year in 2026.
Conclusion
Affordability in Rhode Island in 2026 is a matter of degree. None of these ten places is cheap by national standards, and in every one the typical local household earns less than our model says it needs to buy a median-priced home. Still, the gaps vary widely, from about $11,000 in Pascoag to about $58,000 in Valley Falls. Strong local incomes in the northwest, lower prices in North Providence and West Warwick, and low tax rates in Tiverton and Hopkinton each open a different path to ownership.
Whether you are buying your first home in Coventry, moving up in Burrillville or helping a client close in Warwick, the right financing can make Rhode Island’s most affordable towns more attainable. Brokers can partner with AD Mortgage to bring these options to more Rhode Island buyers.
Read More on Most Affordable Places: Find Your Dream State!
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Written by
Carl Holman
Communications Manager
As AD Mortgage’s Communications Manager, Carl Holman has more than 20 years of expertise in marketing, media relations, and communications, having spent 10 years of his career in mortgage lending and real estate. He holds a Bachelor’s in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina.
