Despite rising housing costs, Providence has become the sixth most affordable city in Rhode Island to own a home, according to the 2026 Housing Fact Book released by HousingWorks RI in late October.
This marks an increase of six places from last year’s ranking, with the report’s estimate of income requisite to afford a home in Providence decreasing nearly $8,000 from $150,153 in 2025 to $142,727 this year. Despite this, only 15% of Providence homeowners can afford the cost of a median home in the area, the report found.
The fact book illustrates that over a third of R.I. households are cost-burdened — meaning over 30% of their annual income is spent on housing expenses. Additionally, nearly 15% of households in the state are severely cost-burdened, dedicating over half of their annual income to housing. These findings are consistent with the state’s cost-burden rates over the past several years.
According to Executive Director of HousingWorks RI Brenda Clement, high cost-burden rates have been a problem in Rhode Island for at least the past two decades.
“The high cost of housing in Rhode Island is driven by several factors, including limited housing supply, rising home prices, increased construction costs and the gap between housing costs and household incomes,” Emily Marshall, communications director for the R.I. Executive Office of Housing, wrote in an email to The Herald.
The fact book also identifies racial disparities in housing cost burdens, with Black and Hispanic households having a higher likelihood of being cost-burdened compared to white and Asian households.
“Racial disparities in housing affordability are rooted in decades of policies and practices that have shaped who has been able to access homeownership, build generational wealth and live in communities with strong economic opportunities,” Marshall wrote, adding that “historically, discriminatory lending practices, redlining, racial covenants and exclusionary zoning limited where families of color could live or own a home.”
These practices have produced significant wealth gaps, which are exacerbated by the housing shortages and rising costs that dominate today’s housing market, she added.
“Years of underproduction across Rhode Island have left too many households competing for too few homes,” Carl Austin Miller Grondin, press secretary for Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, wrote in an email to The Herald. “That shortage has driven home prices higher while incomes have not kept pace, which exacerbates our housing and affordability crisis here in Providence and across the state.”
In addition to the state’s lack of affordable housing, Rhode Island is also facing a housing “quality issue,” Clement said. The fact book’s “Healthy Housing Assessment” finds that over 70% of Rhode Islanders live in homes built before 1980, which has raised concerns regarding inadequate accessibility features and the risk of lead exposure.
The fact book also finds that eviction filings for non-payment of rent dropped by almost 17% in 2025, which Clement said “shows proof of concept (for) eviction defense and early intervention into eviction.”
Marshall wrote that the EOH has worked with the R.I. Center for Justice and R.I. Legal Services, two organizations providing legal support, on preventing eviction through the creation of a landlord-tenant handbook as well as efforts to increase tenants’ access to legal support and resources before eviction is imminent.
“In Providence, our eviction defense and rapid rehousing investments help neighbors avoid displacement or quickly find new housing,” Grondin wrote.
According to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual Point-in-Time count, homelessness rates in Rhode Island dropped by 6% between 2025 and 2026, and the number of unsheltered people dropped by over 30%.
In late 2025, the EOH opened seven regional access points as part of an attempt to address homelessness across Rhode Island. These hubs have helped connect people facing homelessness with resources such as shelter referrals and case management services, Marshall wrote.
The City of Providence’s priorities are to “build more homes, preserve existing affordable housing and help residents stay housed,” Grondin added, which he says they will do through avenues such as increased investment in housing developments, strategic use of underutilized properties and additional eviction prevention efforts.
At the state level, the EOH is working to make homeownership more accessible through its Entry-Level Homeownership Program, Marshall wrote. As of late October, the program had awarded $20 million from a 2024 housing bond, and the 2026 housing bond that passed earlier this week is set to give another $25 million to the program, she added.
Clement said that she hopes the fact book can inform policymakers’ decisions while also holding them accountable by measuring progress in housing affordability over the years.
“You can’t measure success if you don’t have a baseline,” Clement added.
Pavani Durbhakula is a Metro editor. She is a junior from DC and is studying IAPA and Public Health. In her free time, she enjoys baking, reading and searching for new coffee shops.
