Rhode Island County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 5 counties in Rhode Island, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 40.6.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
Rhode Island Snapshot
Rhode Island County Map
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All 5 Rhode Island counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How Rhode Island's 5 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All Rhode Island Counties
5 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 961 | Providence County | 59.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 2 | 1,846 | Kent County | 46.0 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 3 | 2,453 | Newport County | 35.5 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 4 | 2,673 | Washington County | 31.6 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
| 5 | 2,759 | Bristol County | 29.9 | Healthy | Housing Cost Burden |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.