Best Places02894, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02894, 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.
02894 ranks 4,235th 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 02894
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.
02894's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02894 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$142,916 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 02894 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Short commute34.5 minutes each way, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,325 a month, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02894
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02894 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $142,916, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 02894's effective rate of 1.32%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 02894
02894 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02894.
Who works in 02894, and how
Work in 02894 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 02894
The coast is about 15 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 02894, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02894, month by month
02894 sees roughly 88 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 02894
The nearest airport, Westerly State, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 61 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02894
Schools across 02894 average a B+, better than 76% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Chariho Regional Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Chariho High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02894 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02894 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 02894 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 02894
Is 02894 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02894 ranks 4,235th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, low crime, 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 02894 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $402,486. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $142,916 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 02894 safe?
Yes, 02894 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $115 per resident a year.
Compare 02894 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02894. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02894 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.
02894 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02894: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02894: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02894: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02894: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02894 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.