Best PlacesCollege Hill, Providence, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around College Hill, Providence, 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.
College Hill, Providence ranks 1,430th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in College Hill, Providence
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.
College Hill, Providence's strengths and weaknesses
Where College Hill, Providence ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.6 minutes each way, better than 91% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where College Hill, Providence ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in College Hill, Providence
A household needs to earn about $292,000 a year to comfortably buy the median College Hill, Providence home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $108,189, 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 College Hill, Providence's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 College Hill, Providence
College Hill, Providence 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 College Hill, Providence.
Who works in College Hill, Providence, and how
Work in College Hill, Providence centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 27%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 50%
Life in College Hill, Providence
College Hill, Providence has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 30 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of College Hill, Providence and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in College Hill, Providence, month by month
College Hill, Providence sees roughly 67 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 College Hill, Providence
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 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around College Hill, Providence
Schools across College Hill, Providence average an F, better than 1% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- William D'abate Elem. SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Broadway Middle SchoolF · 7% proficient
Top high schools
- Dr. Jorge Alvarez HsF · 3% proficient
- Hope High SchoolF · 3% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every College Hill, Providence school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
College Hill, Providence 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 College Hill, Providence against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in College Hill, Providence
Is College Hill, Providence a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, College Hill, Providence ranks 1,430th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on an educated workforce, walkability, and heat safety, and lowest on the schools and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is College Hill, Providence expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,073,587. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $108,189 median income, cost of living beats 66% of neighborhoods.
Is College Hill, Providence safe?
Yes, College Hill, Providence is safer than 88% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $189 per resident a year.
Compare College Hill, Providence with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to College Hill, Providence. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in College Hill, Providence 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.
College Hill, Providence detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for College Hill, Providence: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in College Hill, Providence: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of College Hill, Providence: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in College Hill, Providence: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
College Hill, Providence 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.