Best Places02863, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02863, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
02863 ranks 27,982nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 02863
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
02863's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02863 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 02863 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02863
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02863 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $50,418, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 02863's effective rate of 0.80%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 02863
02863 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02863.
Who works in 02863, and how
Work in 02863 centers on admin & support services and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 02863
The coast is about 35 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 02863, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02863, month by month
02863 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 02863
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 38 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02863
Schools across 02863 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lonsdale ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- B.f. Norton Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
- The Learning CommunityD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lincoln Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Joseph L. Mccourt MsC · 35% proficient
- Blackstone Valley Prep Jr HighD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Cumberland High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Lincoln Senior High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Central Falls Sr HighF · 6% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02863 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02863 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 02863 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 02863 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 02863
Is 02863 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02863 ranks 27,982nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and big-city access, and lowest on education levels and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 02863 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $350,294. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $50,418 median income, cost of living beats 6% of zip codes.
Is 02863 safe?
02863 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 02863?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 21. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 28% of zip codes.
Is 02863 good for families?
Schools beat 1% of zip codes, crime safety beats 39%, and childcare runs $1,309 a month.
Compare 02863 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02863. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02863 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
02863 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02863: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02863: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02863: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02863: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02863 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.