Providence, RI
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| | Overall Rankings | |
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| | Metro Area (out of 45): | |
| | Healthy Housing: 30th | |
| | Prior Rank: 16th | |
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| | Central City (out of 44): | |
| | Healthy Housing: 24th | |
| | Prior Rank: 11th | |
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| | Click here for comparison to prior report. | |
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| | Data source: 2011 American Housing Survey | |
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Location Summary
Positive Findings: Compared to the national average, the Providence area had fewer homes with open cracks or holes in the walls and floors, water leaks from the inside, room heaters without a flue, and window problems. In the central city, homes were less likely to have water leaks from the inside, heating equipment breakdowns, and siding problems. Areas outside the central city were less likely than the national average to have holes in the floors, signs of rats, water leaks from the inside, room heaters without a flue, exposed wiring, and rooms with no working electrical outlets. Rental homes were less likely to have open cracks or holes in the walls and floors, signs of mice, water leaks from the inside and outside, water supply stoppages, room heaters without a flue, and window problems. Owner-occupied units were less likely to have broken plaster or peeling paint, signs of rats, water leaks from inside, sewage disposal and heating equipment breakdowns, room heaters without a flue, exposed wiring, rooms without a working electrical outlet, and siding problems when compared to the national average.
Areas for Improvement: Compared to the national average, Providence-area homes were more likely to have signs of mice, water leaks from outside, water supply stoppages, flush toilet breakdowns, incomplete plumbing, rooms with no working electrical outlets, and a lack of kitchen facilities. Central city homes were more likely to have rats, incomplete plumbing, exposed wiring, rooms with no functional outlets, and absent kitchen facilities. Dwellings outside the central city were more likely to have mice, water leaks from outside, water supply stoppages, flush toilet and heating equipment breakdowns, and a lack of kitchen facilities. Rental properties were more likely to have broken plaster or peeling paint, evidence of rats, incomplete plumbing, heating equipment breakdowns, exposed wiring, rooms with no functional outlets, and a lack of kitchen facilities when compared to the national average. Owner-occupied units fared better but still had higher-than-average incidences of mice, water leaks from outside, water supply stoppage, flush toilet breakdowns, and absent kitchen facilities.
Community Information: The Providence MSA includes parts of Bristol, Kent, Newport, Providence, and Washington counties, Rhode Island, and a portion of Bristol County, Massachusetts. In 2011, the MSA included 418,673 occupied dwelling units, 22.0% of which were located in the central city of Providence. The housing stock of the MSA ranked among the oldest and most heavily rental of the cities surveyed. The percentage of pre-1940 homes ranked 5th-oldest (28.5%) for the MSA and 10th-oldest (44.2%) for the central city. The median house age for the Providence MSA was 1959. The percentage of rental units ranked 13th-most heavily rental (37.8%) for the entire MSA and 7th-most heavily rental (59.4%) for the central city. Compared to other locations, Providence had a higher poverty rate. Its poverty rate ranked 25th (14.3%) for the entire MSA and 34th (23.9%) for homes in the central city.