02908 — Providence, Rhode Island

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 02908. Its median home value runs 11% below Providence as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity2,096th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured46
Schools2,885th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured13
GrowthTop 47% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured52
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured75
Climate2,084th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured65
Physical resilienceTop 32% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured72
AccessTop 8% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured99
Economic stability2,374th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured37
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.3% and median household income $73,081, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Providence, RI, which contains 02908, rather than for 02908 alone.

In the public schools here, 14% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.6 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 27% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.4 times what its owners earn.

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
39,500
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$73,081
Top 48% nationally
Density
11,611/sq mi
3.4 sq mi of land
Median age
33.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Providence
Rhode Island
Nearest major airport
PVD
8 mi · Rhode Island TF Green Intl
Median home value
$324,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Providence, RI, which contains 02908, is 4.3%, lower than in 54% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Providence, RI, which contains 02908, fell 1.9% over the past year, to 94,664 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsProvidence County, RI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,67147th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftProvidence County, RI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$73,18759th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,2552024 ACS 5-Year$73,081Top 48%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,3082024 ACS 5-Year$36,266Bottom 49%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.3%Bottom 29%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year27.2 minTop 47%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year26.9%Top 41%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year63.6%18th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentProvidence, RI’s figureJuly 202694,664Top 32%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Providence, RI’s figureJuly 2026−1.0%Bottom 39%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Providence, RI’s figureJuly 2026−1.9%Bottom 24%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceProvidence, RI’s figureJuly 202698,95268th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year79.9%Top 43%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageProvidence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$69,290Top 36%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageProvidence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$53,680Top 30%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year2.4%88th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Providence, RI’s figureJuly 2026−1.2%Top 6%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateProvidence, RI’s figureJuly 20264.3%Top 46%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%67th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202474k64k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $73,081 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Providence, RI, the city containing this ZIP code.

14% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 20% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.6 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.6
across 8 of them
Math proficiency
13.6%
Bottom 1% in Rhode Island
Reading proficiency
19.6%
Bottom 1% in Rhode Island
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Mount Pleasant HighProvidence99716.12%9%
Nathanael Greene MiddleProvidence81515.119%26%
George J. West El. SchoolProvidence50212.98%19%
Robert F. Kennedy El. SchoolProvidence45119.633%38%
Harry Kizirian ElementaryProvidence43416.77%14%
Times2 Middle/High School · charterProvidence38312.4——
Paul Cuffee Lower School · charterPaul Cuffee Charter Sch35812.827%22%
Times2 Elementary School · charterProvidence32211.1——
R.I. School for the DeafR.I. Sch for the Deaf773.35%5%

86.0% 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 $3,811 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.18% of the median home value.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,409 a month.

A median home at $324,100 costs 3.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $96,326, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

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
27.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Median gross rent
$1,409
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$324,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 02908’s median household income of $73,081, 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 figure2023101.5Bottom 41%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.7%76th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+51.9%81st percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+111.8%76th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year3.4Bottom 30%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year46.0%7th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±9382024 ACS 5-Year16,91194th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$552024 ACS 5-Year$1,409Bottom 25%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$19,3462024 ACS 5-Year$324,10071st percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2872024 ACS 5-Year$3,81179th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$13,1392024 ACS 5-Year$96,326Top 33%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year1.18%68th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year27.1%Top 42%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±312024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.7%77th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3702024 ACS 5-Year2,15597th percentileof 33,7722024 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

52/ 100
Top 47% of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 363 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 10% are in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Providence, RI, which contains 02908, rather than for 02908 alone.

At 1.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Providence, RI, which contains 02908, rather than for 02908 alone.

Units permitted
363
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.9
Bottom 36% nationally
Year over year
+33%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
10.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings

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.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Providence, RI, the city containing this ZIP code.

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.

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, 8.1 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. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

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.

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 02908 (Providence County) rather than 02908 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Providence carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
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 8 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year91.3%Top 40%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle8 miTop 19%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.8%Top 50%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Rhode Island TF Green IntlPVD8 mi8,700 ft
General Edward Lawrence Logan IntlBOS42 mi10,083 ft
Westover ARB/MetroCEF61 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
55
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
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
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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.

02908 vs Providence

How this ZIP area compares with Providence as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

02908
Providence
Median household income: 02908 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$73,081
vs
$68,119
Per capita income: Providence is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$36,266
vs
$37,138
Population density
11,611/sq mi
vs
10,419/sq mi
Median home value
$324,100
vs
$362,200
Median gross rent: Providence is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,409
vs
$1,408
Homeownership rate
46.0%
vs
41.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Providence is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
26.9%
vs
34.6%
Poverty rate: 02908 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
15.3%
vs
19.5%
Median age
33.9
vs
32.8

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.