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Everything you need to know: A Guide to Moving to Rhode Island

June 3, 2024


Had the possibility of moving to Rhode Island been thrown around, but you’re not quite ready to make it official? Before you pass, we have gone ahead and put together this true sweet guide to some of the major factors worth considering.

For good measure, it’s filled with history, details, trivia, and even some strangeness. And you ought to have a fine, straightforward picture of your next move, in the end.

What it’s like moving to Rhode Island

Moving to Rhode Island
image credit to Wikipedia

To begin with, we have some bad news: Rhode Island isn’t an island, actually. Sorry to smash your bubble. It is flanked on two sides by the Atlantic ocean.

Many other names were given, too. The official nickname of the state is The Ocean State, which references the many bays and lagoons of the state. But perhaps our beloved is Little Rhody, given to the state on the basis of its itty-bitty size. How adorable is that?

Seriously, however, Rhode Island is very tiny, just 48 miles long and 37 miles wide. But that doesn’t deter individuals, including the 2,073 who did so alone in 2017, from coming here. They’re literally packed in like sardines in terms of population density, this 1,545 square mile state comes second only to New Jersey.

And Providence, with 179,000 inhabitants, is the only city with a community of over 100,000. So the community is pretty stretched out or in such a small place, as spread out as you can be.

Size isn’t all. There is plenty to bring to this little state. But let’s first talk about the culture, job market and housing.

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Culture

In Rhode Island, you’ll find no shortage of maturity. For males in the state, the median age is 38.1, and for women is ta 41.5. The largest proportion of the population who graduated from high school is 27.69 percent with the second-highest proportion going to bachelor’s degree holders at 19.36 percent. 

Rhode Island is simply divided into 39 towns when it comes to how the state works, instead of operating as a group of counties. 

In terms of religions, The state is home to the nation’s highest proportion of Catholics. It’s where the first Baptist church in America, called First Baptist Church, originated. And Newport is home to a large synagogue.

Job Market

The state currently has 1,061,712 Rhode Islanders. And that population is really packed tight in such a small place. What does this mean for workers, then?

Some of the current fastest-growing occupations, according to sources, include welder, software developer, business analyst, manager of information technology, marketer, and machinist. And they go on to state that the most high-paying occupations currently include: anesthesiologist, therapist, CEO, physician, dentist, manager, and judge of compensation/benefits. There on both lists, you have a pretty good little range of occupations. And tell yourself, the medical world looks like it’s booming.

Despite the numerous advantages and a minimum wage better at $10.10/hour than the national median, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Rhode Island still has an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent. Although the Bureau’s figures in recent years reflect a dramatic turn for the better.

House Market

Finding the best place to live is among the toughest aspects of moving to a new state. Fortunately, a lot of good choices seem to be on the table for you in Rhode Island. Let’s look a little closer.

The median value is about $ 276,000 when it comes to houses, up a whopping 9.2 percent from the previous year, perfect for sellers, that’s for sure. And at the moment, the median list price for homes on the market is $309,000. But if you only prefer to rent a home, a house’s average rental price is about $2,000 a month.

You wonder, what about apartments? Well, at $1,585/month, the average one-bedroom in the state capital of Providence. But for one-beds in Newport, Pawtucket, and Warwick, rates are quite a bit higher, varying between around $1,089/month and $1,145/month. You have some nice choices, depending on your budget and your willingness to select the city that works best for you.

And much more encouraging sign, there are literally hundreds of new buildings in the whole small state. We looked at a map that showed where all the new construction was going on, and there were so many dots all over.

Yep, for everyone, there’s something.

There you have it! Moving to Rhode Island guide. We hope this will help you decide weather moving to Rhode Island is for or not.

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