Best Places02891, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02891, 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.
02891 ranks 8,744th 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 02891
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.
02891's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02891 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 02891 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
- QuietBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02891
A household needs to earn about $134,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02891 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,466, 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 02891's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 02891
02891 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 02891.
Who works in 02891, and how
Work in 02891 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 02891
02891 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 86% of zip codes. The coast is about 7 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 02891 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02891, month by month
02891 sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 68° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 02891
The nearest airport, Westerly State, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02891
Schools across 02891 average a B−, better than 54% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Deans Mill SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
Top middle schools
- Westerly Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Westerly High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02891 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02891 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 02891 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 02891 suits
Families
Schools land around the 54th percentile and crime safety beats 88%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 02891
Is 02891 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02891 ranks 8,744th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low crime, and an educated workforce, 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 02891 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $507,923. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $100,466 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 02891 safe?
Yes, 02891 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $151 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 02891?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 83 pleasant days a year, more than 48% of zip codes.
Is 02891 good for families?
Schools beat 54% of zip codes, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $1,325 a month.
Compare 02891 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02891. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02891 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.
02891 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02891: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02891: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02891: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02891: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02891 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.