RI Communities Named Among Best Small Cities In U.S.: WalletHub

CRANSTON, RI — Five Rhode Island communities were named among the best small cities in America, according to a new ranking from personal finance website WalletHub.

The ranking compared 1,300 small cities — those with a population between 25,000 and 100,000 people — across the country, weighing factors across five categories: affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life and safety.

Rhode Island's five cities on the list were East Providence, Warwick, Cranston, Woonsocket and Pawtucket. Capital city Providence was too large considered in the ranking, with a population of about 179,000 people, according to 2019 census data.

Here's a look at how each of the five cities ranked overall and in each category. Because of the large number of cities including in the list, they were grouped into percentiles, with the 99th representing the top 1 percent.

Cranston

• Percentile: 73
• Affordability: 609
• Economic health: 415
• Education and health: 508
• Quality of life: 580
• Safety: 212

East Providence

• Percentile: 51
• Affordability: 944
• Economic health: 731
• Education and health: 559
• Quality of life: 1076
• Safety: 264

Pawtucket

• Percentile: 39
• Affordability: 1059
• Economic health: 672
• Education and health: 613
• Quality of life: 658
• Safety: 688

Warwick

• Percentile: 85
• Affordability: 527
• Economic health: 618
• Education and health: 202
• Quality of life: 273
• Safety: 235

Woonsocket

• Percentile: 42
• Affordability: 1197
• Economic health: 632
• Education and health: 615
• Quality of life: 843
• Safety: 730

See the full ranking from WalletHub.