Do you like your neighborhood? Is it friendly, and where everyone knows their neighbors? No matter if you live in the sticks or in an apartment building in downtown Providence, you have a little pocket that you can call home. And each neighborhood is different.
Smaller neighborhoods usually have obvious benefits — less crime, a slower pace of life, and a lower cost of living. But not all Providence neighborhoods are created equal. Some are better than others. But which ones?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Providence are the best. If you’re in one of the places we’re about to highlight, odds are you know you’ve got it made.
Here are the best neighborhoods in Providence for 2018:
- Wayland
- College Hill
- Elmhurst
- Mount Pleasant
- Blackstone
- Fox Point
- Hope
- Mount Hope
- South Elmwood
- Reservoir
Read on to see how we determined the places around Providence that deserve a little bragging rights.
Or, if you’re thinking of moving to elsewhere in Rhode Island check out the best places in Rhode Island overall or the worst neighborhoods in Providence.
How do you determine the best neighborhoods in Providence for 2018?
In order to rank the best neighborhoods in Providence, we had to determine what criteria defines a ‘best’.
Using crime, census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- High incomes
- Low unemployment rates
- Low crime
- High home prices
- High population densities (A proxy for things to do)
We limited the analysis to neighborhoods with over 1,000 people.
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 24 in each category, where 1 was the best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index the ‘Best City Neighborhood In Providence.’ We’re lookin’ at you, Wayland.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Providence has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from best to worst.
1. Wayland
Population: 2,972
Median Income: $49,078
Median Home Value: $522,425
2. College Hill
Population: 9,345
Median Income: $73,024
Median Home Value: $611,738
3. Elmhurst
Population: 10,809
Median Income: $61,325
Median Home Value: $180,591
4. Mount Pleasant
Population: 10,625
Median Income: $58,154
Median Home Value: $158,727
5. Blackstone
Population: 6,475
Median Income: $94,661
Median Home Value: $430,925
6. Fox Point
Population: 3,257
Median Income: $52,271
Median Home Value: $321,020
7. Hope
Population: 2,789
Median Income: $72,622
Median Home Value: $298,550
8. Mount Hope
Population: 6,204
Median Income: $49,791
Median Home Value: $182,950
9. South Elmwood
Population: 1,771
Median Income: $41,450
Median Home Value: $165,750
10. Reservoir
Population: 3,022
Median Income: $48,204
Median Home Value: $149,333
Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of Providence
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Providence where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.
If you’re curious, here are the worst places in Providence:
- Elmwood
- Wanskuck
- Lower South Providence
For more reading, check out:
- These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In Rhode Island
- These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In Rhode Island
- These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Rhode Island
Detailed List Of The Best Neighborhoods In Providence
Neighborhood | Rank |
---|---|
Wayland | 1 |
College Hill | 2 |
Elmhurst | 3 |
Mount Pleasant | 4 |
Blackstone | 5 |
Fox Point | 6 |
Hope | 7 |
Mount Hope | 8 |
South Elmwood | 9 |
Reservoir | 10 |
Manton | 11 |
Valley | 12 |
Charles | 13 |
Washington Park | 14 |
Downtown | 15 |
Hartford | 16 |
West End | 17 |
Smith Hill | 18 |
Federal Hill | 19 |
Olneyville | 20 |
Silverlake | 21 |
Lower South Providence | 22 |
Wanskuck | 23 |
Elmwood | 24 |