Best Places02904, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02904, 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.
02904 ranks 17,649th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 02904
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.
02904's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02904 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 02904 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02904
A household needs to earn about $92,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02904 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $73,381, 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 02904's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 02904
02904's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 02904.
Who works in 02904, and how
Work in 02904 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 02904
02904 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. The coast is about 34 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 02904 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02904, month by month
02904 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 02904
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 41 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02904
Schools across 02904 average a D, better than 6% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Central Elem.B · 50% proficient
- Stephen Olney SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- James L. Mcguire SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lincoln Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Birchwood Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Dr. Edward Ricci SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Lincoln Senior High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- North Providence HighC · 32% proficient
- E-cubed AcademyD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02904 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02904 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 02904 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 02904 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 02904
Is 02904 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02904 ranks 17,649th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and big-city access, and lowest on state finances and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 02904 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $338,401. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $73,381 median income, cost of living beats 36% of zip codes.
Is 02904 safe?
02904 is safer than 41% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $262 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 02904?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 21. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 30% of zip codes.
Is 02904 good for families?
Schools beat 6% of zip codes, crime safety beats 41%, and childcare runs $1,309 a month.
Compare 02904 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02904. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02904 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.
02904 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02904: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02904: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02904: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02904: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02904 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.