Rhode Island had 26.2% of renters paying at least half their income for housing
Each state is shaded by how distressed its households are, from green (least) to red (most), with data through September 2026. Rhode Island scores 32 out of 100.
In 2024, 26.2% of Rhode Island renter households spent at least half their income on housing, the 12th highest share among the 50 states and D.C. Its overall distress score was 32, lower than in most states. Providence County bears the greatest strain, while Bristol County is Rhode Island’s least distressed.
- Score
- 32/100
- Data through
- September 2026
- Edition
- October 2026
Next edition expected March 2027
How Rhode Island ranks among the states
Rhode Island ranked 10th most distressed among the states at the end of 2008; today it is 35th. Jobs weighed heaviest in the old score: every year from 2008 to 2014, its yearly unemployment rate ranked between 2nd and 4th highest among the 50 states and D.C. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). That has faded. Rent isn’t lifting the score either: with the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, renters’ housing costs rank 35th most distressed. On collections and bankruptcy it ranks 38th, because Rhode Islanders end up in collections or bankruptcy less often than people in most states (see how many are behind).
What drives the score
Each part gets a score from 0 to 100 for where Rhode Island stands among the 50 states and D.C. on the measures inside it. The four parts average 40, but the State Distress Index score isn’t that average. Instead it is the share of the other 50 places, the 49 other states and D.C., that average lower on the four parts: 16 of 50, or 32%, which makes the score 32. By the same rule, a state that scores 80 is more distressed than 80% of the other 50 places.
- Renters’ housing costs32In 2024, 26.2% of renter households spent half or more of their income on rent and utilities, almost the same as the U.S. share of 26.1%, yet 12th highest among the states, because many states sit lower.
- Jobs45Rhode Island’s jobless rate for June to August 2026 averaged 3.9%; the U.S. rate averaged 4.1%.
- Late payments48In early 2025, Rhode Island borrowers were 90 or more days behind on cards and car loans less often than borrowers nationwide, and on mortgages about as often.
- Collections and bankruptcy33The state had 96.6 bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents in 2025 (2025 population), 14th lowest among the states, and 10.1% of people with a credit record had a debt in collections in early 2025, against 13.2% nationwide.
Rhode Island beside Connecticut and Massachusetts
Connecticut scores far above Rhode Island, and Massachusetts a little above it.
State Distress Index score, 0 to 100. Jobs make most of the gap with Connecticut: in August 2026, unemployment was 5.1% in Connecticut and 4.3% in Massachusetts, against 3.7% in Rhode Island (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Massachusetts scores a little higher: fewer of its people fall behind on loans, end up in collections or file for bankruptcy, but its jobs and renters’ parts run higher. Renters in all three pay a similar share of income: in 2024, 27.8% of Connecticut renter households and 26.0% of those in Massachusetts spent half or more of it on housing (U.S. Census Bureau).
Rhode Island’s score peaked in 2008, hit bottom in 2023 and has climbed partway back
At its worst, in 2008
At the end of 2008, Rhode Island scored 82 and was the 10th most distressed state, the only quarter in our history that it made the top 10. Its jobs part stood at 97, as high as it has ever been. Yearly unemployment went on to reach 11.6% in 2010, Rhode Island’s highest yearly rate since at least 1990, as far back as our figures go, against 9.6% nationwide.
The 2023 low
The score fell to 24 in the first half of 2023, when Rhode Island ranked 39th. Unemployment averaged 3.0% that year, its lowest yearly rate since at least 1990, against 3.6% for the U.S., and the jobs part sank to 23. Unemployment rose again in 2024 and 2025, and by early 2025 the jobs part was back up to 79 (see jobs).
Since the chart ends
The chart ends in early 2025, when Rhode Island scored 40 and ranked 31st. Today it scores 32, 35th. The jobs part fell from 79 to 45 as unemployment came down from its March 2026 high. The renters’ part slipped from 36 to 32 when the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate replaced the 2023 one, which had 23.6% of renters paying half their income on housing.
Rhode Island was the 10th most distressed state at the end of 2008, 39th in the first half of 2023 and 31st in early 2025
Score on the State Distress Index, 0 to 100, each quarter from the third quarter of 2006, the first with all four parts, to the first quarter of 2025.
How is Rhode Island’s economy doing? Unemployment has fallen since March
Unemployment has come down since March. In August, 3.7% of Rhode Island’s labor force was out of work, down from 4.7% in March and from 4.3% a year earlier, a drop over the year that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts as statistically significant. The U.S. rate was 4.1%, and BLS doesn’t find Rhode Island’s rate significantly different from it. March’s rate was the state’s highest since September 2021, counting every month published (October 2025 has none). For all of 2025, unemployment averaged 4.5%, against 4.3% for the U.S.
Unemployment rate
3.7%
U.S. 4.1%
Tied for 28th highest among the states, August 2026
Unemployment a year earlier
4.3%
August 2025
Yearly average
4.5%
U.S. 4.3%
All of 2025
Rhode Island’s yearly jobless rate ranked 2nd to 4th highest in the country every year from 2008 to 2014; in August 2026 it was 3.7%
Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, Rhode Island and the U.S., each month from January 1990 to August 2026. October 2025 has no point: the federal shutdown stopped that month’s count.
Unemployment is highest in Providence County
| County | Rate |
|---|---|
| Providence | 4.2% |
| Kent | 3.3% |
| Newport | 2.9% |
| Washington | 2.9% |
| Bristol | 2.9% |
Unemployment rate, August 2026, not adjusted for seasonal swings, for all five counties; Newport, Washington and Bristol tie. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment in every state →
Rhode Island’s minimum wage sits between its neighbors’
Rhode Island’s minimum hourly wage has been $16.00 since Jan. 1, 2026, and state law sets it at $17.00 from Jan. 1, 2027 (Rhode Island labor and training department). Connecticut’s is higher, $16.94, and Massachusetts’ lower, $15.00, by the U.S. Department of Labor’s table updated July 1, 2026.
People filing for unemployment benefits do it through the Rhode Island labor and training department.
The poorest and most distressed places in Rhode Island
Providence County is both Rhode Island’s poorest county and its most distressed. In 2024, 14.8% of its residents lived in poverty, the highest rate of the state’s five counties (Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). It scores 65 on our County Distress Index, which measures the strain on household finances in every U.S. county. Bristol County, on the east shore of Narragansett Bay, is the least distressed, at 7, with the lowest poverty rate and the highest typical household income of the five, $113,867. We score counties, not towns, because counties are where the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics publish the figures our index needs. Among Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns, Central Falls has the highest poverty estimate (see the table).
Providence County holds about six in ten Rhode Islanders and scores 65; no other county scores higher than 31
County Distress Index score, 0 to 100, for Rhode Island’s five counties; data through August 2026.
Loading the county map…
The county map could not be loaded. Every county is in the lists on this page.
All five counties, most distressed first
| Rank | County | Score | Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Providence | 65 | 14.8% |
| 2 | Kent | 31 | 7.8% |
| 3 | Newport | 16 | 7.7% |
| 4 | Washington | 10 | 7.8% |
| 5 | Bristol | 7 | 6.7% |
Rank in Rhode Island, 1 = most distressed; ranks use unrounded scores. Poverty: the Census Bureau’s 2024 estimate of the share of residents in poverty. None of the five is among the 100 most or least distressed of the 3,144 U.S. counties we score.
Every county, by score
No Rhode Island county scores 70 or more. Providence County is alone between 50 and 70, and Kent County alone between 30 and 50; Newport, Washington and Bristol all score under 30. Weighted by population, the four counties outside Providence County average 19 (our calculation).
All five Rhode Island counties, ranked →Providence County is the poorest and the most distressed; the other four are close on poverty
Poverty is one part of our county score. Our county index counts five parts equally: late payments, collections and bankruptcy, jobs, renters’ housing costs, and a fifth that takes in poverty, child poverty, household income, disability and health insurance. In Rhode Island the poverty order and the distress order nearly match: Providence County is first on both and Bristol last; Washington ties Kent for second on poverty but ranks fourth on distress, behind Newport. Newport County’s renters’ part is 86, the highest of the five and just above Providence County’s 85, though only 7.7% of its residents are poor. What sets Providence County apart is the rest: its collections and bankruptcy part is 50, against 10 in Newport, 13 in Washington and 11 in Bristol.
Poverty and distress, all five counties
| County | Poverty | Distress rank |
|---|---|---|
| Providence | 14.8% | 1st |
| Kent | 7.8% | 2nd |
| Washington | 7.8% | 4th |
| Newport | 7.7% | 3rd |
| Bristol | 6.7% | 5th |
The Woonsocket Company Mill complex on the Blackstone River, in September 2013. Its three stone mills went up between 1827 and 1859, and the complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Woonsocket, in Providence County, had a poverty rate of 18.7% in 2020 to 2024, one of the highest estimates among Rhode Island’s cities and towns (Census Bureau).
Sources: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; Wikipedia (mill dates); U.S. Census Bureau. Photo: Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Providence County against the other four
Providence County is home to about six in ten Rhode Islanders, including the cities of Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls and Woonsocket, so any statewide figure leans heavily on it. It scores 65; weighted by population, the other four counties average 19. Its typical household earned $73,462 in 2024, the lowest of the five counties. In August 2026, 4.2% of its labor force was out of work. The unadjusted rate was 3.3% in Kent County and 2.9% in Newport, Washington and Bristol counties (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
American Default Research’s County Distress Index, with counties weighted by Census population; the averages and the two groups are ours. U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Is Rhode Island expensive to live in? Rent is near the U.S. median, but many renters stretch
Rent itself isn’t high, but it weighs on renters. Rhode Island’s median rent across 2020 to 2024 was $1,342 a month, 22nd highest among the 50 states and D.C., against a U.S. median of $1,413 (U.S. Census Bureau). Renter households earn far less than owners, though: their median income was $49,031 in 2024, against $112,578 for households that own their home and $54,446 for renters nationwide (Census Bureau, one-year estimates). In 2024, 26.2% of Rhode Island renter households spent half or more of their income on rent and utilities, the largest share since 2013. We don’t measure prices for food, fuel or power, so we can’t rank Rhode Island’s whole cost of living.
Median rent, a month
$1,342
U.S. $1,413
22nd highest among the states, 2020 to 2024
Renters spending at least 30% of income on housing
45.4%
U.S. 47.6%
21st highest among the states, 2020 to 2024
Homeowners spending at least 30% of income on housing
26.5%
U.S. 22.5%
6th highest among the states, 2020 to 2024
In 2024, 26.2% of Rhode Island renters paid half their income or more for housing, the most since 2013, when it was 26.3%
Renter households spending half or more of their income on rent and utilities, Rhode Island and the U.S., 2005 to 2024. 2020 is missing because the Census Bureau released only experimental one-year figures that year.
Homeowners stretch too
Owners carry a heavy load as well: 26.5% of Rhode Island homeowners spent 30% or more of their income on housing in 2020 to 2024, 6th highest among the states, against 22.5% nationwide (U.S. Census Bureau).
For one adult with no children, the MIT Living Wage Calculator puts basic costs in Rhode Island at $52,024 a year before taxes, 14th highest among the states; for two working parents with two children, $132,342. The budgets count necessities only.
Power and heating bills aren’t in our data. In August 2026, Rhode Island’s Public Utilities Commission turned down the second year of Rhode Island Energy’s requested rate increase. It set first-year rates for usage from Sept. 1 and ordered monthly bill credits. Those credits were set to begin on electric bills in October 2026 and gas bills in December (see what changed).
Rent takes a bigger share of a typical income in Massachusetts than in Rhode Island
A year of median rent equals 19.3% of Rhode Island’s median household income, less than in Massachusetts and the U.S. as a whole and more than in Connecticut.
| Place | Rent, a month | Typical household income | Rent as share of income |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Rent as share of income 20.8% | $1,413 Typical household income $81,604 | $81,604 | 20.8% |
| Massachusetts Rent as share of income 20.2% | $1,762 Typical household income $104,569 | $104,569 | 20.2% |
| Rhode Island Rent as share of income 19.3% | $1,342 Typical household income $83,250 | $83,250 | 19.3% |
| Connecticut Rent as share of income 18.7% | $1,488 Typical household income $95,670 | $95,670 | 18.7% |
Rent: Census Bureau median gross rent, 2020 to 2024. Income: Census Bureau median household income, 2024. Share: twelve months of that rent divided by that income (our calculation). Rent and housing costs across the U.S. →
Is Rhode Island a poor state? Its poverty rate is close to the nation’s
Not by the Census Bureau’s count, which puts it close to the middle. Its poverty rate was 12.0% in 2024, 21st highest among the 50 states and D.C. and about the same as the U.S. rate of 12.1%. The typical household earned $83,250, 19th highest, against $81,604 nationwide (Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). Income per person, all the income residents received divided by the number of residents, was $70,622 in 2024, against $73,204 for the U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis). Poverty runs far higher in some of its cities (see the table).
Residents in poverty
12.0%
U.S. 12.1%
21st highest among the states, 2024
Children in poverty
15.5%
U.S. 15.5%
Tied for 20th highest among the states, 2024
Median household income
$83,250
U.S. $81,604
19th highest among the states, 2024
Rhode Island’s poverty rate peaked at 14.8% in 2014, the highest of the years shown, and was 12.0% in 2024
Percent of residents below the poverty line in Rhode Island and the U.S., 1989 to 2024. There are no points for 1990 to 1992 or 1994.
What is the poorest city in Rhode Island?
Central Falls has the highest poverty estimate of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns: 24.6% of its residents were poor in 2020 to 2024, by the Census Bureau’s survey. Providence, at 20.7%, and Woonsocket, at 18.7%, are close behind, and the survey’s margins of error overlap, so Central Falls’ lead isn’t certain. Narragansett’s estimate is high too, but its margin is wide enough that the true rate could be much lower.
| City or town | Poverty | Margin of error | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Falls County Providence | 24.6% Margin of error ± 5.2 points | ± 5.2 points | Providence |
| Providence County Providence | 20.7% Margin of error ± 1.8 points | ± 1.8 points | Providence |
| Narragansett County Washington | 19.0% Margin of error ± 5.3 points | ± 5.3 points | Washington |
| Woonsocket County Providence | 18.7% Margin of error ± 2.5 points | ± 2.5 points | Providence |
| Newport County Newport | 16.5% Margin of error ± 2.7 points | ± 2.7 points | Newport |
| Pawtucket County Providence | 13.3% Margin of error ± 1.8 points | ± 1.8 points | Providence |
The six highest poverty estimates of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns: share of residents below the poverty line, American Community Survey five-year estimates, 2020 to 2024, with each estimate’s margin of error (U.S. Census Bureau, table S1701). This is a different survey from the state and county rates above, so the figures don’t line up with them. Every city and town at the Census Bureau →
SNAP food help reaches fewer Rhode Islanders than a year ago
In June 2026, 117,128 Rhode Islanders got SNAP food benefits, once called food stamps, 17.4% fewer than the 141,801 of June 2025 (U.S. Department of Agriculture). That was 10.5% of residents (2025 population), tied for 22nd highest among the 50 states and D.C., against 10.6% nationwide.
The count went down every month of that year. It was already falling before the department’s first notices of federal rule changes, due before Nov. 1, 2025: down 6,222 from June to October. It fell another 18,451 from October to June 2026, a stretch that took in the new non-citizen rules and the wider work rule, which was due to start March 1, 2026 (see what changed). We can’t split the drop between the rules and other reasons people leave the program, such as earning more. A falling count doesn’t show falling need, either, and Census poverty figures stop at 2024.
Apply for SNAP through Rhode Island’s human services department →
What weighs on Rhode Island’s economy
Wages and salaries made up 46.1% of Rhode Islanders’ income in 2024, 16th lowest among states, against 49.7% nationally. Benefit checks and other government payments, such as Social Security and Medicare, made up 20.4% (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis). The state is also older than most: 18.7% of residents were 65 or older in 2020 to 2024, 14th highest (U.S. Census Bureau). An older population could account for part of the smaller wage share; we haven’t tested that.
The population grew 1.6% from 2020 to 2025, to 1,114,521; that growth was 19th lowest among the 50 states and D.C. (Census Bureau estimates).
Health coverage cost more in 2026
Coverage bought through HealthSource RI, the state’s health insurance marketplace, cost its customers about twice as much in 2026, after the larger federal premium tax credits ran out and insurers raised prices (see what changed). A state program to help with those premiums is set to start on Jan. 1, 2027 (see what to watch).
Most aid programs use the federal poverty guidelines. In 2026, they are $15,960 a year for one person and $33,000 for a family of four (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). This is a separate yardstick from the Census Bureau’s poverty rate above.
What changed in Rhode Island in the past year
-
Aug. 21, 2026
Utility regulators order bill credits and turn down a second year of rate increases
Rhode Island’s Public Utilities Commission, ruling on Rhode Island Energy’s request to raise electric and gas delivery rates, voted on Aug. 12 to deny the second year of the increase the company asked for; new first-year rates were due to apply to usage from Sept. 1. It also ordered credits tied to PPL’s 2022 purchase of the utility: a flat monthly credit on every electric account, set to begin with bills in October 2026 and run through September 2027, and on gas accounts from December 2026 through April 2027. The governor’s office put the credits at more than $170 million. We found no page dated after the credits were due to start, so we can’t confirm they have begun.
Office of Gov. Dan McKee, Aug. 21, 2026; Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, draft minutes, dockets 25-45-GE and 25-33-GE
-
June 12, 2026
The state budget creates a child tax credit
The budget for fiscal 2027, signed June 12, adds a refundable credit of $330 per child, set to start with tax year 2027 and phasing out for single filers above $100,000 and joint filers above $125,000. It also drops the age limit on the state’s exemption for Social Security income in 2027 and sets up a program to help pay marketplace health premiums from Jan. 1, 2027, with $22.0 million that the legislature’s fiscal staff expects to cover more than 20,000 people.
Rhode Island House Fiscal Office, FY 2027 Budget as Enacted: Budget at a Glance
-
March 9, 2026
HealthSource RI customers pay about twice as much for coverage
HealthSource RI, the state’s health insurance marketplace, said average premiums across its customers rose 101% for 2026, after the larger federal premium tax credits expired on Dec. 31, 2025, and insurers raised prices. Sign-ups at the close of open enrollment fell 10%, to 38,557. For a single adult earning 150% to 200% of the federal poverty level, the average monthly premium went from $40 to $137, by HealthSource RI’s count.
-
March 1, 2026
SNAP’s wider work rule was due to start in Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s human services department pushed back the start of the new federal work rule to March 1: adults 18 to 64 who are able to work, have no child under 14 at home, and who work, volunteer or train fewer than 80 hours a month can lose benefits. In February the department also said refugees, asylees and several other groups of non-citizens are no longer eligible unless their status has changed (see SNAP).
-
Jan. 1, 2026
The minimum wage goes up
Rhode Island’s minimum wage went up on Jan. 1, and state law has already set the next step, for Jan. 1, 2027 (see the minimum wage beside its neighbors’).
-
Oct. 14, 2025
Rhode Island warns SNAP households of federal changes
Under the 2025 federal law, Rhode Island’s human services department told households that those affected would get a notice before Nov. 1 or at their next renewal: fewer non-citizens qualify, households without an older or disabled member can no longer use a heating-aid payment to claim a standard utility deduction, and some groups lose their exemption from the work rule. The department’s page doesn’t say how many people are affected.
How many Rhode Islanders are behind on their debts?
Fewer than across the country. In early 2025, 15.1% of Rhode Islanders with a credit record had a debt 90 or more days late, tied for 27th highest among the 50 states and D.C., against 17.2% nationwide (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia). We calculated the national share by weighting each state by population. They were behind on cards and car loans less often than borrowers nationwide, and fewer had a debt sent to a collector.
Where Rhode Island ranks among the 50 states and D.C.: card borrowers 26th highest, car-loan borrowers tied for 36th highest, mortgage borrowers tied for 23rd highest; people with a debt in collections 17th lowest. The U.S. bars are our population-weighted average of the states.
Fewer Rhode Islanders had a debt in collections in early 2025 than at the end of 2019: 10.1% of people with a credit record, against 14.4%. In those years the three big credit bureaus took many medical debts off credit reports. Across the country the share of people with a medical collection fell from about 14% in March 2022 to about 5% in June 2023 (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Card borrowers 90 or more days late went the other way, from 9.7% at the end of 2019 to 12.4%.
Dollars behind, by the New York Fed’s count
Household debt, not state government debt, came to $60,090 per Rhode Islander with a credit report at the end of 2025, 23rd highest among the states, against $63,200 nationwide (Federal Reserve Bank of New York). Measured by the share of balances 90 or more days late, Rhode Island’s shares were lower than the nation’s on cards and car loans and a little higher on mortgages.
| Loan type | Rhode Island | U.S. | Rhode Island 2019 | U.S. 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card | 11.4% End of 2025 U.S. 12.4% Rhode Island 2019 8.1% · U.S. 2019 8.1% | 12.4% | 8.1% | 8.1% |
| Auto loan | 3.5% End of 2025 U.S. 5.2% Rhode Island 2019 3.1% · U.S. 2019 4.9% | 5.2% | 3.1% | 4.9% |
| Mortgage | 1.0% End of 2025 U.S. 0.9% Rhode Island 2019 1.1% · U.S. 2019 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1.0% |
Share of loan balances 90 or more days late at the end of 2025 and the end of 2019 (Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax). This second measure counts dollars, not people, so it doesn’t match the Philadelphia Fed’s shares above.
Few Rhode Island homeowners have thin equity, but more than nationwide are a month or two late
In the second quarter of 2026, 2.1% of Rhode Island mortgages had less than 10% equity, the home’s value minus what is still owed, against 4.7% nationwide (Federal Housing Finance Agency). Early late payments run higher: 2.0% of mortgages were 30 to 89 days behind in September 2025, against 1.6% for the U.S.
| Measure | Rhode Island | U.S. | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgages with less than 10% equity, April to June 2026 Tied for 8th lowest | 2.1% U.S. 4.7% | 4.7% | Tied for 8th lowest |
| Mortgages 30 to 89 days late, Sept. 2025 Tied for 11th highest | 2.0% U.S. 1.6% | 1.6% | Tied for 11th highest |
Rank among the 50 states and D.C. Equity: Federal Housing Finance Agency. Payments 30 to 89 days late, an early stage of falling behind: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Late payments in every state →
Rhode Island’s bankruptcy filings rose for a third straight year
Rhode Islanders filed 1,077 bankruptcy cases in 2025, up 11.3% from 2024 and the most since 2020, when 1,413 were filed (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). Filings have climbed every year since 2022, when 793 were filed, the fewest of any year we hold, and 1,157 cases were filed in the 12 months to June 2026. For its size the state still files few: 96.6 cases for every 100,000 residents in 2025 (2025 population), 14th lowest among the 50 states and D.C., against 166.3 nationwide.
About a quarter of Rhode Island’s 2025 filings, 25.7%, came under Chapter 13, in which the filer pays back part of what they owe through a court-approved plan, against 35.9% across the country. Nearly all the rest came under Chapter 7, which can erase many debts.
| Year | Filings |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 5,500 |
| 2019 | 2,036 |
| 2020 | 1,413 |
| 2021 | 992 |
| 2022 | 793 |
| 2023 | 843 |
| 2024 | 968 |
| 2025 | 1,077 |
| July 2025 to June 2026 | 1,157 |
Cases under every chapter, each calendar year and the most recent 12 months, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Rhode Island. 2010 had the most filings of any year from 2006 through 2025. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-2. Bankruptcy filings in every state →
How foreclosure works in Rhode Island
Most Rhode Island foreclosures happen without a court, under a power of sale in the mortgage and in state law, though a lender can choose to go to court instead. For most owner-occupied homes, the lender first has to send a notice offering a foreclosure mediation conference. This free meeting with the lender is run by a coordinator from a HUD-approved counseling agency. It is held within 60 days of that notice (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-9). The lender can’t foreclose without taking part, unless the coordinator certifies that you didn’t respond or that no agreement came out of a good-faith effort. Lenders based in Rhode Island that meet the law’s conditions are exempt. The notice of sale then goes to you by certified mail at least 30 days before it is first published. It runs once a week for three weeks, the first time at least 21 days before the sale (§ 34-27-4). Until the sale, you can redeem the home by paying what you borrowed, with interest (§ 34-23-2); after it, there is no right to buy it back. Federal rules generally keep a mortgage company from starting a foreclosure before the loan is more than 120 days behind.
- Usually goes through a court
- No
- Free mediation conference
- Before the sale
- Mailed notice before first publication
- 30 days
- Notice published
- 3 weeks
- Buy-back right after the sale
- None
What the law says for a home you live in. Sources: Rhode Island General Laws § 34-27-4, § 34-27-9 and § 34-23-2; federal rule 12 CFR 1024.41. RIHousing is one of the agencies that run the mediation conferences (RIHousing). How foreclosure works in Rhode Island →
Rhode Island received $50.0 million from the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund for mortgage help after the pandemic, and by early 2026 the money had reached 1,851 households (U.S. Treasury). The fund no longer takes new applications (RIHousing).
Payment trouble tops Rhode Island’s mortgage complaints
Rhode Islanders have sent 1,523 complaints about mortgages to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2012. Trouble during the payment process is the most common issue (430), followed by loan servicing, payments or escrow (311) and then loan modifications, collection and foreclosure (269).
- Oct. 2, 2026 Citizens Financial Payment process: trouble reaching the company to fix a problem with the loan In progress
- Sept. 16, 2026 Selene Finance Struggling to pay: trouble reaching the company about a modification, forbearance or foreclosure Closed with explanation
- Sept. 3, 2026 Carrington Mortgage Struggling to pay: trouble reaching the company about a modification, forbearance or foreclosure In progress
- Sept. 2, 2026 JPMorgan Chase Payment process Closed with explanation
- Aug. 6, 2026 AmeriHome Mortgage Payment process Closed with explanation
- Aug. 4, 2026 LoanCare Payment process: trouble reaching the company to fix a problem with the loan Closed with explanation
- Aug. 1, 2026 Village Capital Struggling to pay: trouble reaching the company about a modification, forbearance or foreclosure Closed with explanation
- July 30, 2026 Shellpoint / NewRez Payment process: escrow, taxes or insurance Closed with explanation
- July 27, 2026 CrossCountry Mortgage Payment process: escrow, taxes or insurance Closed with monetary relief
- July 15, 2026 Ocwen / Onity Group Payment process: escrow, taxes or insurance Closed with explanation
The latest ten Rhode Island complaints about making mortgage payments or getting help with a mortgage, newest first, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s public database showed them on Oct. 14, 2026. Complaints about getting a new loan and those naming a credit reporting company are left out. Each complaint is one person’s account; the bureau doesn’t verify it, and a complaint isn’t a finding against the company. Every Rhode Island mortgage complaint at the CFPB →
What to watch before the next edition
Five dated items to follow before the next edition, starting with the nearest: a jobs report, a housing vote, a tax amnesty and two changes that take effect on New Year’s Day.
-
Oct. 20, 2026
September unemployment for every state
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to publish September’s state unemployment rates, the first after Rhode Island’s August figure on this page. October’s rates are scheduled for Nov. 20.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, State Employment and Unemployment release
-
Nov. 3, 2026
Voters decide on a housing bond
Question 2 on the statewide ballot asks voters to approve $120 million in state bonds to build and preserve affordable housing, with part set aside for housing people can buy and part for public housing.
Rhode Island Department of State, Voter Information Handbook, General Election 2026
-
Dec. 3, 2026
A state tax amnesty opens
Rhode Island’s Division of Taxation runs a tax amnesty from Dec. 3, 2026, to Feb. 15, 2027, for state taxes owed as of Dec. 31, 2025.
-
Jan. 1, 2027
The next minimum wage step
State law sets Rhode Island’s minimum wage at $17.00 an hour from Jan. 1, up from $16.00.
-
Jan. 1, 2027
State help with marketplace health premiums begins
The state’s new Marketplace Affordability Program is set to start helping people who buy coverage through HealthSource RI, putting first those under 200% of the federal poverty level who lost the larger federal tax credits (see what changed).
Rhode Island House Fiscal Office, FY 2027 Budget as Enacted: Budget at a Glance
Where Rhode Island ranks highest and lowest
| Measure | Rhode Island | U.S. | Rank | Latest data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homeowners spending at least 30% of income on housing 6th highest · 2024* | 26.5% U.S. 22.5% | 22.5% | 6th highest | 2024* |
| Mortgages 30 to 89 days late Tied for 11th highest · Sept. 2025 | 2.0% U.S. 1.6% | 1.6% | Tied for 11th highest | Sept. 2025 |
| Renters spending half or more of income on housing 12th highest · 2024 | 26.2% U.S. 26.1% | 26.1% | 12th highest | 2024 |
| Basic yearly budget, one adult 14th highest · 2025 dollars | $52,024 U.S. — | — | 14th highest | 2025 dollars |
| Median household income 19th highest · 2024 | $83,250 U.S. $81,604 | $81,604 | 19th highest | 2024 |
| Residents in poverty 21st highest · 2024 | 12.0% U.S. 12.1% | 12.1% | 21st highest | 2024 |
| Median rent, a month 22nd highest · 2024* | $1,342 U.S. $1,413 | $1,413 | 22nd highest | 2024* |
| Residents getting SNAP food benefits (2025 population) Tied for 22nd highest · June 2026 | 10.5% U.S. 10.6% | 10.6% | Tied for 22nd highest | June 2026 |
| Household debt per person with a credit report 23rd highest · End of 2025 | $60,090 U.S. $63,200 | $63,200 | 23rd highest | End of 2025 |
| Unemployment rate, three-month average Tied for 26th highest · June–August 2026 | 3.9% U.S. 4.1% | 4.1% | Tied for 26th highest | June–August 2026 |
| People with a debt in collections 17th lowest · Early 2025 | 10.1% U.S. 13.2% | 13.2% | 17th lowest | Early 2025 |
| Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents (2025 population) 14th lowest · 2025 | 96.6 U.S. 166.3 | 166.3 | 14th lowest | 2025 |
| Homeownership rate 10th lowest · 2024* | 63.6% U.S. 65.2% | 65.2% | 10th lowest | 2024* |
| Residents without health insurance 5th lowest · 2024* | 4.4% U.S. 8.4% | 8.4% | 5th lowest | 2024* |
Rhode Island is ranked here against the 50 states and D.C.; “highest” counts from the top of the list and “lowest” from the bottom, and equal printed values share a rank. * Census five-year survey, 2020 to 2024. The basic budget is the MIT Living Wage Calculator’s, which has no U.S. figure. People with a debt in collections: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, counting people with a credit record; its U.S. figure weights each state by its population (our calculation). Each row’s source is listed under Sources and method. Download this table: CSV.
Questions about Rhode Island
What is Rhode Island’s unemployment rate?
It was 3.7% in August 2026, seasonally adjusted, against 4.1% for the U.S., and down from 4.3% in August 2025, a fall the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts as significant. Earlier in 2026 it had risen to 4.7%, in March. Unemployment benefits are handled by the Rhode Island labor and training department.
What is the poorest city in Rhode Island?
Central Falls has the highest poverty estimate, 24.6% for 2020 to 2024, though it is within the survey’s margin of error of Providence, at 20.7%, and Woonsocket, at 18.7% (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey). The poorest county is Providence County, where 14.8% of residents were poor in 2024 (see the table).
What is Rhode Island’s minimum wage?
It is $16.00 an hour, in effect since Jan. 1, 2026, and state law sets it at $17.00 from Jan. 1, 2027 (Rhode Island labor and training department). Connecticut’s is $16.94 and Massachusetts’ $15.00 (U.S. Department of Labor, July 1, 2026).
Is Rhode Island expensive to live in?
Rent is middling, but many renters stretch to pay it. The median rent, $1,342 a month across 2020 to 2024, was 22nd highest among the 50 states and D.C., yet in 2024, 26.2% of renter households spent half or more of their income on housing, 12th highest (U.S. Census Bureau). Prices for food, fuel and power aren’t in our data, so we don’t rank the whole cost of living.
How does foreclosure work in Rhode Island?
Most foreclosures happen without a court, by a power of sale. For most homes people live in, the lender must first offer a free mediation conference, run by a coordinator from a HUD-approved counseling agency (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-27-9). The notice of sale goes out by certified mail at least 30 days before it is first published (§ 34-27-4), and once the home is sold there is no right to buy it back. Our guide to foreclosure in Rhode Island has the details.
Cite or reuse Rhode Island’s data
Quote or reuse these figures, with credit, in news stories, research or grant applications.
State Distress Index
Rhode Island
35thmost distressed state
of the 50 states and D.C.
More distressed than 32% of the other states and D.C.
On American Default Research’s State Distress Index, which measures strain on household finances, Rhode Island is the 35th most distressed of the 50 states and D.C.; at the end of 2008 it was 10th. In 2024, 26.2% of its renter households spent half or more of their income on rent and utilities, 12th highest among the states (U.S. Census Bureau). Providence County, home to about six in ten Rhode Islanders, scores 65 on the County Distress Index, while the other four counties average 19 (weighted by population; our calculation).
Reporters can reach us at press@americandefault.org for interviews or a custom cut of the data.
Sources and method
We gather the data, run the numbers and research each state ourselves.
This edition: October 2026 · Next edition expected March 2027
- Monthly and yearly unemployment, Rhode Island, its five counties and the U.S.U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; state release for August 2026Jan. 1990 to Aug. 2026
- Poverty and household income, state and countiesCensus Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates1989 to 2024
- Poverty in cities and townsCensus Bureau, American Community Survey five-year estimates, table S17012020 to 2024
- Renter households spending half their income or more on housing; renter and owner incomeCensus Bureau, American Community Survey, one-year estimates (tables B25070 and B25119)2005 to 2024
- Rent, housing costs, homeownership, age and health insuranceCensus Bureau, American Community Survey, five-year estimates2020 to 2024
- PopulationCensus Bureau, population estimates2020 to 2025
- Income per resident, and how much came from wages and from government paymentsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis2024
- Late payments and collectionsFederal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Consumer Credit Explorerend of 2019 to early 2025
- Household debt and dollars behindFederal Reserve Bank of New York, Consumer Credit Panel / Equifaxend of 2019 and end of 2025
- Mortgages with little equityFederal Housing Finance Agency, National Mortgage Databasesecond quarter of 2026
- Mortgages 30 to 89 days late; mortgage complaints; medical debts on credit reportsConsumer Financial Protection Bureau: Mortgage Performance Trends; complaint database; Recent changes in medical collections on consumer credit recordsSept. 2025; Oct. 14, 2026; March 2022 to June 2023
- Bankruptcy filingsAdministrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-22006 to June 2026
- SNAPU.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition AdministrationJune 2025 to June 2026
- SNAP rules in Rhode IslandRhode Island’s human services department, SNAP updatesOct. 14, 2025, to Feb. 17, 2026
- Marketplace health coverageHealthSource RIMarch 9, 2026
- State budget: child tax credit and premium helpRhode Island House Fiscal Office, FY 2027 Budget as Enacted: Budget at a GlanceJune 2026
- Utility rates and bill creditsRhode Island Public Utilities Commission, draft minutes, dockets 25-45-GE and 25-33-GE; Office of Gov. Dan McKeeAug. 2026
- Minimum wageRhode Island labor and training department; U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, minimum wage by state2026 and 2027; July 1, 2026
- Housing bond and tax amnestyRhode Island Department of State, Voter Information Handbook; Rhode Island Division of TaxationNov. 3, 2026; Dec. 2026 to Feb. 2027
- Cost of getting byMIT Living Wage Calculator2025 dollars
- Mortgage help fundU.S. Treasury, Homeowner Assistance Fund; RIHousingthrough early 2026
- Foreclosure lawRhode Island General Laws § 34-27-4, § 34-27-9 and § 34-23-2; 12 CFR 1024.41read Oct. 17, 2026
- Poverty guidelineU.S. Department of Health and Human Services2026
- Housing counselorsU.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentOctober 2026
- Woonsocket Company MillNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; Wikipedialisted 1973
- PhotoMagicpiano, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.02013
The score has four equal parts: renters’ housing costs; late payments; collections and bankruptcy; and jobs. Each measure is scored against all 50 states and D.C., and Rhode Island’s score is the share of the other 50 places whose four-part average is lower than its own. The full method →
We write with AI tools, and Ross Kilburn checks and reviews every page before it's published.
Get the next Rhode Island edition by email
One email each time a new Rhode Island edition is out; the next is expected in March 2027. Unsubscribe anytime.
Thanks, that helps.