Best PlacesNewport County, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Newport County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Newport County ranks 364th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Newport County
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.
The best areas in Newport County
The parts of Newport County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Portsmouth
Schools score higher, crime runs lower, and transit reaches more jobs.
Little Compton
Tree cover is thicker and more residents vote.
Tiverton
Fewer homes sit empty, though streets are more car-dependent.
Newport East & Middletown
More households have young kids and biking is better.
Jamestown
Local pay stretches less far and incomes run lower.
Newport
More adults hold degrees, though prices have run up more.
Scores across Newport County run from about the 24th to the 95th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Newport County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Newport County ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- Household income$109,828 median, better than 95% of counties
- TransitBetter than 95% of counties
Where Newport County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,405 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Newport County
A household needs to earn about $172,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Newport County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $109,828, 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 Newport County's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 Newport County
Newport County runs older 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 Newport County.
Who works in Newport County, and how
Work in Newport County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Newport County
Newport County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 78% of counties. The coast is about 8 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Newport County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Newport County growing, and who is moving in?
Newport County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Providence, RI metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Newport County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Newport County, month by month
Newport County sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 39° |
| July | 82° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 66° | 57° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Newport County
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 58 miles away.
The best schools in and around Newport County
Schools across Newport County average a B−, better than 65% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Wilbur And Mcmahon SchoolsB− · 40% proficient
- Colt Andrews SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Warwick Neck SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jamestown School-lawnA · 65% proficient
- Portsmouth Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Davisville Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Portsmouth High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- North Kingstown Sr. HighA · 67% proficient
- Narragansett High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Newport County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Newport County 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 Newport County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Newport County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 78% of counties and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Newport County
Is Newport County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Newport County ranks 364th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on health care access, an educated workforce, and big-city access, and lowest on an overheated housing market and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Newport County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $649,342. The overall cost of living runs about 22% above the national average. Set against a $109,828 median income, cost of living beats 78% of counties.
Is Newport County safe?
Yes, Newport County is safer than 84% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $189 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Newport County?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 24. That works out to about 87 pleasant days a year, more than 48% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Newport County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Portsmouth, Little Compton, and Tiverton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Newport County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Newport County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Newport County 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.
Newport County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Newport County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Newport County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Newport County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Newport County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Newport County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.