Data / Rankings / Poverty rate (US official measure) / Counties in Rhode Island

Counties in Rhode Island by poverty rate

Providence County had the highest poverty rate of 5 counties in 2016, at 15.8%. Bristol County had the lowest, at 8.2%. The median was 9.6% and the figure for Rhode Island was 13.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest15.8Providence County
Lowest8.2Bristol County
Median9.65 counties
Rhode Island13.3History

All counties, 2016

CSVChart (SVG)

Providence CountyProvidence County: 15.8 %15.8Washington CountyWashington County: 9.8 %9.8Kent CountyKent County: 9.6 %9.6Newport CountyNewport County: 9 %9Bristol CountyBristol County: 8.2 %8.2
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Providence County15.8-1.4 pts
2Washington County9.8-0.1 pts
3Kent County9.6+0.9 pts
4Newport County9-2.1 pts
5Bristol County8.2-1.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People living in families or alone with income below the official US poverty thresholds, as a percentage of people whose poverty status can be determined. United States: Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), all ages.

Absolute thresholds set by the US government, so not comparable with the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2016/2016-state-and-county/est16all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

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Rank Counties in Rhode Island by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"Rhode Island","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=Rhode%20Island&limit=10

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Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Providence County, with 15.8% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

Bristol County, with 8.2% in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Poverty rate (US official measure): other rankings

Counties in Rhode Island: more rankings