Kent County, Rhode Island

County Distress Index: Normal · 46.7 | 171,278 people · 2nd most distressed in Rhode Island

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Kent County, RI falls within the normal range for household financial distress at 46.7 — 1850th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Housing Cost Burden, where a large share of households spend more than 30% of income on housing. Within Rhode Island, it ranks 2nd of 5 counties. Among its 4 neighboring counties, 3 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Kent County's primary driver is Housing Cost Burden at 77.9 — worse than roughly 78% of U.S. counties.

Housing Cost Burden Primary driver 77.9
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 88
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 74
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 99
Homeownership Rate 61
Rent-to-Income Ratio 68
Employment & Wages 69.4
Unemployment Rate 55
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 88
Business Formation Rate 65
Income & Poverty 33.0
Poverty Rate 13
Income vs. State Median 74
Child Poverty Rate 12
Debt & Delinquency 30.5
Debt in Collections 30
Medical Debt 7
Student Loan Delinquency 26
Auto Loan Delinquency 20
Credit Card Delinquency 46
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 55
Community Vulnerability 22.7
Uninsured Rate 2
Disability Rate 43

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Kent County compares to its 4 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Kent County
Kent County, RI 46.7 Normal
Providence County, RI 58.4 Elevated +11.7
Newport County, RI 42.0 Normal -4.7
Washington County, RI 35.1 Normal -11.6
Bristol County, RI 33.1 Healthy -13.6

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Kent County
Ulster County, NY 46.8 Normal +0.0
Cass County, MI 46.6 Normal -0.1
Marion County, WV 46.8 Normal +0.1
Henderson County, NC 46.6 Normal -0.1
Logan County, OK 46.9 Normal +0.2

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