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Towns / Rhode Island

Barrington, Rhode Island

Barrington is a suburb of about 17,000 people in Bristol County, Rhode Island, in the Providence area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Providence, is about 8 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Providence

Population
16,961
down 1.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$644,100
Bristol County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$153,198
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Providence area
101.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Providence, RI
To Providence
8 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.8% above the U.S. average in the Providence-Warwick metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 4 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byWomen & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island in Providence, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityProvidence is about 8 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Barrington meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Barrington runs into the built-up area around Providence (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$644,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Bristol County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,943 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$153,198U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
88%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$9,656 a yearRhode Island: $4,900
Homes built before 1940
28%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
101.8U.S. average = 100 (the Providence-Warwick metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Providence-Warwick metro area, not Barrington alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
16,9612020: 17,151
Median age
43.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
73%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (34%); professional and business services (16%); finance, insurance and real estate (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
22%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Providence, RI, about 7 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

6 public schools in Barrington, run by Barrington.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Rhode Island's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
22°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
12 a year
Nights at or below freezing
109 a year
Rain and melted snow
47.5 inches a year
Snow
37 inches a year
Elevation
1 feet

Weather station: Providence T F Green Ap (6 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Warwick, Providence.

Bristol County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Alfred Drowne Road Historic District, Barrington Civic Center and the Jennys Lane Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Roger Williams National Memorial8 miles
  • Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park10 miles
  • New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park21 miles
  • Adams National Historical Park39 miles
  • Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area41 miles

Read about Barrington's history on Wikipedia.

Know Barrington?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.