Best PlacesNorth Smithfield, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Smithfield, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Smithfield ranks 8,179th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Smithfield
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.
North Smithfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Smithfield ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of towns
- TransitBetter than 94% of towns
- Household income$109,546 median, better than 90% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of towns
Where North Smithfield ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,309 a month, better than only 10% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 14% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Smithfield
A household needs to earn about $124,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Smithfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $109,546, 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 North Smithfield's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 North Smithfield
North Smithfield runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Smithfield.
Who works in North Smithfield, and how
Work in North Smithfield centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in North Smithfield
North Smithfield has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of towns and more parkland per resident than 98% of towns. The coast is about 46 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Smithfield and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Smithfield, month by month
North Smithfield 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 North Smithfield
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 38 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Smithfield
Schools across North Smithfield average a B+, better than 70% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Harris SchoolD− · 11% proficient
- Kevin K. Coleman SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Globe Park SchoolF · 3% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Smithfield MsB · 47% proficient
- Frederick W. Hartnett Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Woonsocket Middle @ Villa NovaF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- North Smitfield HsB · 50% proficient
- Blackstone Millville RhsB · 48% proficient
- Woonsocket High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Smithfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Smithfield 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 North Smithfield against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Smithfield
Is North Smithfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Smithfield ranks 8,179th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, health care access, and transit, and lowest on state finances 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 North Smithfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $456,390. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $109,546 median income, cost of living beats 84% of towns.
Is North Smithfield safe?
Yes, North Smithfield is safer than 75% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $173 per resident a year.
Compare North Smithfield with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Smithfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Smithfield 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.
North Smithfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Smithfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Smithfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Smithfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Smithfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Smithfield 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.