Washington, DC vs Providence, RI
Moving from Washington to Providence? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($583,013 → $524,867 median home) and taxes.
Washington vs Providence at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Washington, DC, you'd need about $92,668 in Providence, RI (−$7,332).
Livability — Washington, DC: 39 · Providence, RI: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,286 sqft in Washington vs 1,524 sqft in Providence ($389 vs $328 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Washington, DC | Providence, RI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $28,992 | $25,956 | −$3,036 |
| Groceries | $5,318 | $4,922 | −$396 |
| Transportation | $3,855 | $3,875 | +$20 |
| Utilities | $2,748 | $3,060 | +$312 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,700 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $17,710 | $13,121 | −$4,589 |
| Total | $60,023 | $52,634 | −$7,389 |
Side by side
| Metric | Washington, DC | Providence, RI |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.5 | 101.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.87% | 5.82% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.2% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.23 | $5.78 |
| Median home price | $583,013 | $524,867 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.5% | 3.1% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $328 |
| Median rent | $2,416 | $2,163 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.0% | 11.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 7.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | 5.99% |
| Property tax rate | 0.95% | 1.31% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $26,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 34 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 25.4 | 28.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $80 | $92 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $271 | $80 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $67 |
| Violent crime /100k | 1,000 | 240 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 29 | 21 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.8 | 47.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.7 | 36.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |