Best Places02903, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02903, 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.
02903 ranks 15,838th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 02903
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.
02903's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02903 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 02903 ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02903
A household needs to earn about $165,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02903 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $77,252, 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 02903's effective rate of 1.17%, 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 02903
02903 runs younger 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 02903.
Who works in 02903, and how
Work in 02903 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 47%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 34%
Life in 02903
02903 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. The coast is about 29 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 02903 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02903, month by month
02903 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 02903
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 43 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02903
Schools across 02903 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Vartan Gregorian El. SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- William D'abate Elem. SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Carl G. Lauro El. SchoolF · 3% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Broadway Middle SchoolF · 7% proficient
- Urban Collaborative ProgramF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Classical High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Rini Middle CollegeF · 11% proficient
- Village Green VirtualF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02903 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02903 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 02903 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 02903
Is 02903 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02903 ranks 15,838th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and cell coverage, and lowest on the schools and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 02903 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $600,420. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $77,252 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 02903 safe?
02903 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $437 per resident a year.
Compare 02903 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02903. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02903 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.
02903 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02903: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02903: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02903: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02903: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02903 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.