Best Places02896, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02896, 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.
02896 ranks 7,081st 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 02896
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.
02896's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02896 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Household income$110,577 median, better than 86% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 02896 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,309 a month, better than only 15% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02896
A household needs to earn about $125,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02896 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $110,577, 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 02896's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 02896
02896 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02896.
Who works in 02896, and how
Work in 02896 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 02896
02896 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. The coast is about 46 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 02896 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02896, month by month
02896 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 02896
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 19 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 02896
Schools across 02896 average a B+, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Raymond Laperche SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Smithfield MsB · 47% proficient
- Vincent J. Gallagher MiddleB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- North Smitfield HsB · 50% proficient
- Smithfield High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02896 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02896 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 02896 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 02896
Is 02896 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02896 ranks 7,081st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, big-city access, and clean air, 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 02896 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $458,882. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $110,577 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 02896 safe?
Yes, 02896 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $172 per resident a year.
Compare 02896 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02896. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02896 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.
02896 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02896: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02896: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02896: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02896: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02896 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.