Financial Stress · Rhode Island

Rhode Island — financial stress by county

The Financial Stress Index (FSI) combines renter cost burden, eviction rate, and debt in collections into a 0–100 score. 5 of 5 Rhode Island counties have all three inputs and receive a score. The state average FSI across reporting counties is 57.6. Providence, RI has the highest score at 70.

Data note: The eviction rate component draws from the Princeton Eviction Lab's last national county release (2018). Post-pandemic eviction trends are not reflected in these scores — counties with high pre-2020 eviction activity may score differently if updated data were available. Rent burden and debt figures use 2024 ACS and Urban Institute data.

National comparison · Rhode Island

How does Rhode Island compare nationally?

Among states with reliable FSI coverage (≥60% of counties scored), Rhode Island ranks #9 of 36 states. The state average FSI of 57.6 is 10% above the national average FSI of 52.6.

Rhode Island ranks #3 of 6 in the Northeast by average FSI score.

Top 10 — Most Stressed Counties

Counties in Rhode Island ranked by FSI score

CountyFSI
1 Providence, RI 70
2 Kent, RI 63
3 Newport, RI 54
4 Washington, RI 51
5 Bristol, RI 50
Source  ·  US Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2024 (2020–2024) · Princeton Eviction Lab (through 2018) · Urban Institute Debt in America (2024)  ·  Full FSI methodology →

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Financial stress — compare with other states

Click any state for county-level data and rankings.