Best Places02879, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02879, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
02879 ranks 5,846th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 02879
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.
02879's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02879 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Household income$109,612 median, better than 86% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 02879 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,325 a month, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02879
A household needs to earn about $152,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02879 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $109,612, 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 02879's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 02879
02879 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02879.
Who works in 02879, and how
Work in 02879 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 02879
02879 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of zip codes. The coast is about 6 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 02879 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02879, month by month
02879 sees roughly 103 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 31° | 22° |
| April | 57° | 47° | 38° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 02879
The nearest airport, Westerly State, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02879
Schools across 02879 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Curtis Corner Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Broad Rock Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Narragansett Pier SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- South Kingstown HighB+ · 55% proficient
- Narragansett High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02879 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02879 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 02879 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 02879 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 72% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 66% of zip codes and health care access beats 99%.
Common questions about living in 02879
Is 02879 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02879 ranks 5,846th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, an educated workforce, and heat safety, and lowest on state finances 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 02879 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $571,856. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $109,612 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 02879 safe?
Yes, 02879 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $167 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 02879?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 22. That works out to about 103 pleasant days a year, more than 66% of zip codes.
Is 02879 good for families?
Schools beat 74% of zip codes, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $1,325 a month.
Compare 02879 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02879. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02879 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.
02879 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02879: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02879: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02879: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02879: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02879 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.