The Safest and Most Dangerous Cities in Rhode Island

Rhode Island Cities With the Lowest Violent Crime Rates

Located by Narragansett Bay on the eastern edge of the state, Barrington has Rhode Island's lowest violent crime rate, at 12 incidents per 100,000 residents per year. This puts Barrington well below the national average of 364 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, indicating it’s a remarkably safe community.¹

Although it’s not a rural settlement, Barrington has a relatively low population density, which typically correlates with lower crime rates. It has schools with higher than average test scores, and a highly educated population.² Ninety-eight percent of adults have a high school diploma, and 72 percent have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.³

Residents of Barrington also earn nearly twice the state average, with a median household income of around $150,000 per year. Low population density, good schools, and high income are factors commonly associated with low crime rates, and Barrington has all three. Woodsy West Greenwich and the peninsular town of Bristol follow with comparable numbers as the second and third least violent cities in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Cities With the Highest Violent Crime Rates

Standing at the state's northern edge, Woonsocket has the unwanted distinction of having Rhode Island’s highest violent crime rate, 433 incidents per 100,000 residents per year.

Once a bustling mill town along the Blackstone River Valley, Woonsocket has experienced decades of deindustrialization, which has resulted in economic decline. The poverty rate is around 20 percent (the national average is about 15 percent) while the median household income is about $58,000 per year, well below the state average of $81,000.⁴

Population density is often connected with crime rates, and Woonsocket is the fourth most densely populated city in Rhode Island.⁵ Central Falls is among the state’s most densely populated cities and has Rhode Island’s second-highest rate of violent crime. The capital city of Providence comes in third for violent crime.

Rhode Island Cities With the Lowest Property Crime Rates

When it comes to property crime, Scituate has the state’s lowest numbers, at 182 incidents per 100,000 residents per year. Scituate is located in the heart of the state, with just about 10,000 residents. It’s surrounded by forests and separated from the urban areas to the east by the Scituate Reservoir. Scituate is not known for tourist attractions and is away from the main traffic artery of Interstate 95. It’s also home to a police pistol range.

The city of Foster to the west and Burrillville to the north have the second- and third-lowest levels of property crime. They, too, have relatively small populations away from the state’s urban centers.

Rhode Island Cities With High Property Crime Rates

Providence is also first in the state in terms of property crime, at 1,906 incidents per 100,000 residents per year. Nearby Pawtucket follows closely at 1,678, while Woonsocket makes its second appearance on the high crime list at 1,580.

Larceny-theft is by far the most common type of property crime in Rhode Island, at 862 incidents per 100,000 residents per year. This is still around 36 percent below the national average. Vehicle theft is the second most common type of property crime.

Providence is the state’s largest urban center by far and attracts many tourists each year, so it’s not surprising that it also has the highest level of property theft. Pawtucket and Woonsocket are both relatively dense urban centers with a rocky economic history of deindustrialization, which makes their presence on this list more understandable.

How Does the Crime Rate in Rhode Island Compare to Other States?

As mentioned earlier, Rhode Island is among the safest states in the nation, with the fourth-lowest rate of violent crime, and the fifth-lowest rate of property crime. To help put that in perspective, Indiana is 26th in the country for violent crime, and this “average” state number is 332 incidents per 100,000 residents per year. Meanwhile, the state with the highest violent crime rate is New Mexico, at 749 per 100,000.⁷ For Rhode Island, it is 168 incidents per 100,000 residents per year. That means the violent crime rate is 54 percent below the national average.

Property crime is also lower in Rhode Island than in many other states, at 42 percent below the national average. Crimes such as burglary, vehicle theft, robbery, and aggravated assault are all less than half of the national average.

Crime rates in Rhode Island are also trending down. Property crime has decreased by 12.8 percent year over year, while violent crime had a year-over-year decrease of 2.6 percent. This puts the state in line with a national trend of decreasing violent crime.^8,9

Rape, however, is only 3.4 percent below the national average, standing out among the crime statistics because it is substantially closer to the national average.¹⁰ Some possible reasons for this may include the relatively high number of college and university students in the state and an increase in the frequency of reporting in general.