Rhode Island by the numbers
In Rhode Island, the median worker earns $54,040 a year, the typical home is worth $368,800 and carries $4,854 of property tax, and the average household pays $165 a month for electricity at 29.46¢ per kilowatt-hour.
Northeast ISO New England Retail choice statewide
Energy
Rhode Island is small enough to function as one distribution territory, and it generates little of its own power from anything other than natural gas. That combination gives it very little insulation. When ISO New England's marginal price rises, Rhode Island's Last Resort Service price follows at the next procurement.
The state has been an early and aggressive offshore-wind buyer. Block Island was the first commercial offshore wind farm in the country, and the contracts signed for those projects sit in rates. They are small in absolute terms, but they are visible in a state with a small ratepayer base.
Averaged across the twelve months to May 2026, Rhode Island households used 572 kilowatt-hours a month and paid $165. At the state median wage that is about 6.3 hours of work a month to keep the lights on. For heating, gas is still cheaper to run than a heat pump here, by about $5.57 per million BTU.
Work and pay
The median Rhode Island worker earned $54,040 in 2024, 9.2% above the national median. What distinguishes a state's labour market is rarely its biggest occupations, which are retail and food service everywhere, but what it has disproportionately.
| Occupation | Concentration | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other | 8.98× | $87,050 |
| Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers | 8.24× | $47,300 |
| Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | 3.09× | $132,330 |
| Fundraisers | 2.84× | $67,390 |
| English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | 2.81× | $76,260 |
Property tax
The median Rhode Island homeowner pays $4,854 a year on a home worth $368,800, an effective rate of 1.32% against a national 0.98%. Nobody sets that rate. It is what falls out of county, city, school district and special district levies applied to an assessed value, so the state figure is a weighted average of 5 counties rather than a posted number.
Cost of living
Prices in Rhode Island run at 102.3 where the national average is 100, ranking it #15 of 51. Goods sit at 97.2, which is close to national almost everywhere because most goods are shipped and priced nationally. Rents sit at 105.6, and that is where states actually separate from one another. A median wage of $54,040 therefore buys what $52,825 buys nationally.
Metro areas priced separately: Providence-Warwick (101.8) .
Housing
House prices in Rhode Island rose 4.6% over the year to 2026 Q2, against a median across all states of +2.7%. Over ten years the index is +126.2%. Prices are at or near their record level.
Metro areas tracked here: Providence-Warwick (+4.1%) .
Who supplies the power
5 utilities report residential service in Rhode Island, together serving 344,040 customers. Retail choice statewide.
Rhode Island: common questions
What does it cost to live in Rhode Island?
Prices overall run at 102.3 against a national average of 100, with rents at 105.6. The typical home is worth $368,800 and carries $4,854 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 1.32% against a national 0.98%. Electricity averages $165 a month at 29.46¢ per kilowatt-hour. Against that, the median wage is $54,040.
What is the property tax rate in Rhode Island?
The effective rate is 1.32% of home value, from a median bill of $4,854. It is set locally rather than by the state, so the figure is a weighted outcome across 5 counties. County by county rates.
Does a salary go further in Rhode Island?
The median wage of $54,040 buys what $52,825 buys nationally, once local prices are taken out. A state paying above the national median while charging above it for housing can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows which side of that line Rhode Island falls on.
Is Rhode Island expensive for electricity?
It ranks #4 of 51 jurisdictions on price at 29.46¢ per kilowatt-hour, +59.8% against the U.S. average. On the actual bill it ranks 14 of 51, because households there use 572 kWh a month against a national 871.
What is the median salary in Rhode Island?
$54,040 across all occupations, about $25.98 an hour, covering 493,800 wage and salary workers as of 2024.
Who supplies electricity in Rhode Island?
5 utilities report residential service, the largest being The Narragansett Electric Co with 332,540 customers. Retail choice statewide.
Electricity May 2026, gas 2024, utilities 2024, wages 2024. All figures from federal statistical agencies. Methodology · Sources