State comparison
Delaware vs Rhode Island: which state is better to live in?
Delaware costs a median household about $4,200 a year less in state and local taxes than Rhode Island, mostly because property tax on a median home runs $1,925 a year against $5,590 in Rhode Island.
Delaware
Low tax burden · COL index 102
Wins 10 categories
Rhode Island
High tax burden · COL index 114
Wins 6 categories
Taxes: Delaware vs Rhode Island
Delaware has a graduated income tax topping out at 6.6%, which works out to 5.2% on a median income of $74,580, or $3,906 a year. Rhode Island has a graduated income tax topping out at 5.99%, which works out to 3.8% on a median income of $74,580, or $2,861 a year. Rhode Island wins on income tax at 2026 rates.
Property tax is 0.55% of home value a year in Delaware and 1.30% in Rhode Island (Tax Foundation, 2023); on each state's median home that is $1,925 against $5,590, so Delaware has the lower rate.
Delaware has no sales tax; combined state and local sales tax averages 7.00% in Rhode Island.
Add it up for a household earning $74,580 (the 2022 national median) and owning the median home: $5,831 a year in Delaware, $10,017 in Rhode Island. Delaware is cheaper on total state and local tax.
Housing and cost of living
Delaware's cost of living index is 102 and Rhode Island's is 114, where 100 is the national average; Delaware is about 12% cheaper day to day.
The median home costs $350K in Delaware and $430K in Rhode Island (Zillow, 2024), a $80K gap in Delaware's favor. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,550 a month in Delaware and $1,800 in Rhode Island.
Home insurance averages $700 a year in Delaware and $1,400 in Rhode Island, so Delaware is cheaper to insure.
Safety
Violent crime runs 446 incidents per 100,000 residents in Delaware and 237 in Rhode Island (FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2023); Rhode Island is the safer state by that measure, with a rate 88% lower. Property crime is 1,827 per 100,000 in Delaware against 1,527 in Rhode Island, again favoring Rhode Island.
Health
Life expectancy is 76.6 years in Delaware and 78.1 in Rhode Island (County Health Rankings, 2024), a 1.5-year edge for Rhode Island. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Delaware's health system 18th of 50 and Rhode Island's 4th, so Rhode Island scores better on care.
6.3% of Delaware residents have no health insurance against 4.7% in Rhode Island, which favors Rhode Island. Both states expanded Medicaid.
Schools
Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Delaware's K-12 schools 24th in the country and Rhode Island's 13th, 11 places apart in Rhode Island's favor. Neither state runs a school-choice voucher program.
Laws and politics
In the 2024 presidential election Delaware went to Harris by 8 points and Rhode Island went to Harris by 17 points.
Delaware has may-issue carry permits and a Giffords gun-law grade of A-; Rhode Island has may-issue carry permits and a grade of B, so Delaware regulates guns more tightly and Rhode Island is the friendlier state for gun owners.
Abortion is protected by state law in both states, and marijuana is legal for adults in both as of 2026. The minimum wage is $13.25 an hour in Delaware and $14.00 in Rhode Island.
Climate and risk
Natural disaster risk is moderate in Delaware (hurricane, flood) and moderate in Rhode Island (hurricane, nor-easter, flood). Annual average air quality index is 35 in Delaware and 32 in Rhode Island (under 50 is good), favoring Rhode Island.
Tax figures use a household earning the national median income and owning each state's median home, at rates in force as of 2026-09-04. The table below has every number.
Taxes
Housing & Cost of Living
Crime & Safety
Healthcare
Education
Childcare
Utilities & Daily Costs
Social Policy
Category wins
10
Delaware
6
Rhode Island
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Score For My Profile →Questions people ask
Is Delaware or Rhode Island better to live in?
It depends on what you weigh most. Delaware on taxes ($5,831 a year for a median household against $10,017); Delaware on everyday costs (index 102 against 114); Rhode Island on safety (237 violent crimes per 100,000 against 446); Rhode Island on schools (ranked 13th against 24th).
Which is cheaper, Delaware or Rhode Island?
Delaware is cheaper day to day: cost of living index 102 against 114. The median home is $350K in Delaware and $430K in Rhode Island (2024). On state and local taxes Delaware saves a median household about $4,200 a year.
Does Delaware or Rhode Island have lower taxes?
Delaware. A household earning $74,580 pays about $5,831 a year in Delaware ($3,906 income tax, $1,925 property tax on the median home and $0 in sales tax) and $10,017 in Rhode Island ($2,861 income tax, $5,590 property tax on the median home and $1,566 in sales tax), at 2026 rates.
Which is safer, Delaware or Rhode Island?
Rhode Island, on the FBI's 2023 figures. Violent crime is 446 per 100,000 residents in Delaware and 237 in Rhode Island; property crime is 1,827 against 1,527.
Which has better schools, Delaware or Rhode Island?
Rhode Island. Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Delaware 24th of 50 for K-12 and Rhode Island 13th.
Is Delaware or Rhode Island better for retirees?
Delaware is friendlier to retirees on paper. Delaware does not tax Social Security, partly exempts pensions and has no estate or inheritance tax; Rhode Island taxes Social Security, partly exempts pensions and has an estate tax. Property tax on a median home is $1,925 a year in Delaware and $5,590 in Rhode Island.