Central Falls, Rhode Island

Area Profile

22,701 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Central Falls, in Providence County.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
Opportunity3,693rd of 4,199 cities measured36
GrowthTop 23% of 4,224 cities measured64
Housing affordability3,677th of 4,218 cities measured43
Climate2,815th of 4,225 cities measured65
Physical resilienceTop 33% of 4,226 cities measured72
AccessTop 17% of 4,226 cities measured98
Economic stability3,925th of 4,226 cities measured27
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.1% and the Opportunity signal places Central Falls in the bottom 12%.

Housing costs more relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 33% of renter income and the median home is 5.5 times what its owners earn.

Rhode Island TF Green Intl is 12 miles away, closer than 68% of measured US cities.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
22,701
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$49,285
Bottom 22% nationally
Density
19,013/sq mi
1.2 sq mi of land
Median age
32.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Rhode Island
Nearest major airport
PVD
12 mi · Rhode Island TF Green Intl
Median home value
$352,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.1%, lower than in 58% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.9% over the past year, to 9,634 employed residents.

Median household income of $49,285 is lower than in 78% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsProvidence County, RI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,67140th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftProvidence County, RI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$73,18753rd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,1602024 ACS 5-Year$49,285Bottom 22%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2062024 ACS 5-Year$21,117Bottom 11%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year24.0%Bottom 16%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year30.2 minBottom 33%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.8%Bottom 23%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year59.3%12th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20269,634Bottom 2%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.0%Bottom 40%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.9%Bottom 25%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202610,0502nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year71.2%Bottom 29%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageProvidence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$69,290Top 47%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageProvidence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$53,680Top 41%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%95th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.4%Top 3%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.1%Top 42%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.2%37th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.72.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.1% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202449k40k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $49,285 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers21,530$33,700
Retail Salespersons20,910$35,230
Home Health and Personal Care Aides15,670$40,890
Registered Nurses15,180$99,880
Cashiers14,440$34,540
General and Operations Managers14,110$110,360

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

17% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 23% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.0 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
17.4%
2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency
23.3%
2018-19 school year
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Central Falls Sr HighCentral Falls78814.68%12%
The Learning Community · charterLearning Community56912.432%42%
Calcutt Middle SchoolCentral Falls47613.64%8%
Ella Risk SchoolCentral Falls41411.218%24%
Veterans Memorial ElementaryCentral Falls40612.711%16%
Segue Inst for Learning · charterSegue Institute for Learning35913.37%25%
Blackstone Valley Prep Jr High · charterBlackstone Valley Prep A RI Mayoral Academy32313.554%47%
Raices Dual Language AcademyCentral Falls20612.1——
G. Harold Hunt SchoolCentral Falls16213.5——
Raices Upper Dual Language AcdCentral Falls6312.6——

91.6% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Rhode Island’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 101.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area is up 52% over five years, and up 4.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,744 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.06% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,200 a month.

A median home at $352,100 costs 5.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $64,189, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Cost of living
101.5

Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
32.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$1,200
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$352,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Central Falls’s median household income of $49,285, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2023101.5Top 47%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.7%75th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+51.9%84th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+111.8%79th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±12024 ACS 5-Year5.5Bottom 6%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year25.6%2nd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5362024 ACS 5-Year8,42693rd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$752024 ACS 5-Year$1,200Bottom 32%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$30,4552024 ACS 5-Year$352,10078th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$5332024 ACS 5-Year$3,74481st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$13,6522024 ACS 5-Year$64,189Bottom 29%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.18%2024 ACS 5-Year1.06%56th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year32.6%Bottom 28%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±232024 ACS 5-Year1468th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%53rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%58th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2162024 ACS 5-Year74393rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

64/ 100
Top 23% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 23,034 in 2024.

98% of the 43 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Providence County, which contains Central Falls, lost about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $66,671, below the $73,187 of households that moved out.

At 1.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
43
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.9
Bottom 40% nationally
Year over year
+617%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
97.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202423k23k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
78%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$66,671
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$73,187
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Kent County, RI 2,883 people · 14% of arrivals
  2. Bristol County, MA 2,122 people · 10% of arrivals
  3. Suffolk County, MA 1,016 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  4. Norfolk County, MA 985 people · 4.8% of arrivals
  5. Worcester County, MA 839 people · 4.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Kent County, RI 3,774 people · 17% of departures
  2. Bristol County, MA 1,685 people · 7.8% of departures
  3. Washington County, RI 931 people · 4.3% of departures
  4. Norfolk County, MA 801 people · 3.7% of departures
  5. Worcester County, MA 763 people · 3.5% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Providence County, RI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025202.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+233%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.5 inches, including 36.6 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 38, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PROVIDENCE T F GREEN AP, 11.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year552024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals36.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year382024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
38
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
55
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

72 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 72% of it. Heat wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Inland floodingModerate
HurricaneModerate
EarthquakeModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, cold wave, lightning, ice storm, tornado, hail, coastal flooding, strong wind, winter weather, drought, wildfire, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
273
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
787
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Central Falls's police department reported 273 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 787.

Providence County records 2.3 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 3.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 19.4 per 100,000 residents in Providence County.

Homicide
2.3
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
3.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
19.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
7.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Central Falls’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Central Falls (Providence County) rather than Central Falls itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Rhode Island TF Green Intl at 12 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year86.5%Bottom 36%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle12 miTop 32%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%Bottom 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Rhode Island TF Green IntlPVD12 mi8,700 ft
General Edward Lawrence Logan IntlBOS38 mi10,083 ft
Westover ARB/MetroCEF62 mi11,597 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
56
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—

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Other cities in Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
ProvidenceProvidence County191,76761Providence vs Central Falls
New BedfordBristol County100,99849New Bedford vs Central Falls
Fall RiverBristol County94,08252Fall River vs Central Falls
CranstonProvidence County83,25064
WarwickKent County83,17570
PawtucketProvidence County75,89364
TauntonBristol County60,43360
East ProvidenceProvidence County47,28167
AttleboroBristol County46,76263
WoonsocketProvidence County43,52157
North Attleborough TownBristol County30,98469
NewportNewport County24,87462

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Central Falls side by side with a similar place.

Central Falls vs WinchesterCentral Falls vs Lemon Hill

Moving to Central Falls from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Central Falls

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Central Falls with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Central Falls closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
0286322,701$49,285$352,100—