Best PlacesSmith Hill, Providence, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Smith 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.
Smith Hill, Providence ranks 4,185th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Smith 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.
Smith Hill, Providence's strengths and weaknesses
Where Smith Hill, Providence ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 71% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 70% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 68% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 68% of neighborhoods
Where Smith Hill, Providence ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Smith Hill, Providence
A household needs to earn about $188,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Smith Hill, Providence home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $67,246, 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 Smith Hill, Providence's effective rate of 0.95%, 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 Smith Hill, Providence
Smith 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 Smith Hill, Providence.
Who works in Smith Hill, Providence, and how
Work in Smith Hill, Providence centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Smith Hill, Providence
Smith Hill, Providence has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 31 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Smith Hill, Providence and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Smith Hill, Providence, month by month
Smith Hill, Providence sees roughly 71 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 Smith Hill, Providence
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 Smith Hill, Providence
Schools across Smith Hill, Providence average an F, better than 1% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Times2 Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- William D'abate Elem. SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Harry Kizirian ElementaryF · 6% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Broadway Middle SchoolF · 7% proficient
Top high schools
- 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 Smith Hill, Providence school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Smith 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 Smith Hill, Providence against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Smith Hill, Providence
Is Smith Hill, Providence a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Smith Hill, Providence ranks 4,185th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, heat safety, and transit, 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 Smith Hill, Providence expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $705,281. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $67,246 median income, cost of living beats 38% of neighborhoods.
Is Smith Hill, Providence safe?
Smith Hill, Providence is safer than 52% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $321 per resident a year.
Compare Smith Hill, Providence with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Smith Hill, Providence. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Smith 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.
Smith Hill, Providence detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Smith Hill, Providence: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Smith Hill, Providence: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Smith Hill, Providence: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Smith Hill, Providence: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Smith 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.