Rhode Islandincome tax up to 5.99%, 14th highest property tax, median home $430K

Worth knowing before you move to Rhode Island

Rhode Island has a graduated income tax reaching 5.99%, an estate tax with an exemption below $2 million, and taxes Social Security above income thresholds. The whole state is within an hour's drive, and Providence commuters reach Boston by train in under an hour. Home prices rose faster than most of New England after 2020; coastal flood exposure is significant.

What Rhode Island taxes, and what it doesn't

Rhode Island levies a graduated income tax that tops out at 5.99%. A household earning $75,000 pays an effective 3.8%, about $2,813 a year; at $150,000 the effective rate is 4.2%. Among the 41 states that tax income, Rhode Island has the 12th lowest effective rate at $100,000 of income.

Property tax runs 1.30% of home value a year, roughly $5,590 on the state's median home of $430K. The national effective rate is about 1.10%, and Rhode Island has the 14th highest rate of the 50 states.

Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.00%, the 25th lowest in the country (the state portion is 7%).

For retirees: Rhode Island is one of the few states that taxes Social Security benefits, pension income is partly exempt, and an estate tax applies above $1.77 million.

Capital gains are taxed as ordinary income.

Housing and the cost of living in Rhode Island

Rhode Island's cost of living index is 114, where 100 is the national average; that is the 11th most expensive of the 50 states.

The median home costs $430K, 42% above the national figure and the 12th highest among the states. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,800 a month.

Carrying costs matter as much as the price: home insurance averages $1,400 a year, flood coverage adds about $900 where it is needed, car insurance runs $2,100.

Budget $195 a month for electricity and gas, $610 a month in groceries for two, $1,750 a month for full-time infant care.

Safety, health and schools

Violent crime is 237 incidents per 100,000 residents in the FBI's 2023 Crime Data Explorer figures, below the median state (387); Rhode Island is the 10th safest of the 50 by that measure. Property crime is 1,527 per 100,000.

Life expectancy is 78.1 years (County Health Rankings 2024). 4.7% of residents have no health insurance, and the state has expanded Medicaid. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Rhode Island's health system 4th of 50.

Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks K-12 schools 13th in the country.

Politics, guns and social policy

Politically, Rhode Island is a solidly Democratic state that went to Harris by 17 points in 2024.

On guns, concealed-carry permits are may-issue, at the discretion of local authorities, and Giffords grades the state's gun laws B.

Abortion is protected by state law. Marijuana is legal for adults. Rhode Island is not a right-to-work state, and the minimum wage is $14.00 an hour.

Climate, risk and getting around

Natural disaster risk is moderate. The main hazards are hurricane, nor-easter, flood. Annual average air quality index is 32 (under 50 is good).

Rhode Island has no top-25 hub airport, with about 40 nonstop destinations from its busiest airport.