Best Places02908, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 02908, 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.
02908 ranks 16,219th 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 02908
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.
02908's strengths and weaknesses
Where 02908 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 02908 ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 02908
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 02908 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $79,098, 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 02908's effective rate of 1.15%, 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 02908
02908 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 02908.
Who works in 02908, and how
Work in 02908 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 02908
The coast is about 32 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 02908, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 02908, month by month
02908 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 02908
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around 02908
Schools across 02908 average an F, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Stephen Olney SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- James L. Mcguire SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Times2 Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nathanael Greene MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
- Birchwood Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Dr. Edward Ricci SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- North Providence HighC · 32% proficient
- Times2 Middle/high SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Dr. Jorge Alvarez HsF · 3% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 02908 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
02908 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 02908 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 02908 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 02908
Is 02908 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 02908 ranks 16,219th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and cell coverage, and lowest on the schools 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 02908 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $394,239. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $79,098 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 02908 safe?
02908 is safer than 42% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 02908?
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 29% of zip codes.
Is 02908 good for families?
Schools beat 0% of zip codes, crime safety beats 42%, and childcare runs $1,309 a month.
Compare 02908 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 02908. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 02908 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.
02908 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 02908: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 02908: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 02908: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 02908: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
02908 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.