Providence composite
48.6 /100
Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Providence vs Springfield
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA and Springfield, MA side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 48.6
- Providence Life Score
- B-
- Providence grade
- 44.8
- Springfield Life Score
- C
- Springfield grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Providence scores higher on 4 (rent, safety, schools, childcare) and Springfield on 3 (cost of living, wages, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Providence vs Springfield across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Providence Springfield ◗
cost of living
15
37
wages
88
88
rent
30
19
safety
89
48
schools
14
10
childcare
16
1
environment
72
85
Providence and Springfield differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Providence has a cost-of-living index of 101.8 vs Springfield's 96.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $77,588 in Providence and $72,417 in Springfield. A 2-bedroom averages $1,527/mo vs $1,734/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Providence vs Springfield Comparison
Providence (RI) and Springfield (MA) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 101.8 for Providence against 96.1 for Springfield, a 5.7-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,527/mo in Providence and $1,734/mo in Springfield, a $207/mo difference that compounds to $2,484 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $77,588 across 683,510 jobs in Providence against $72,417 across 191,450 jobs in Springfield. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Providence carries the same local purchasing power as $94,388 in Springfield - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 154.6 per 100,000 residents in RI vs 308.8 in MA, with property-crime rates of 1040.1 and 1101.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: RI lists 309 public schools at a 13.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while MA lists 1,831 schools at 12.3:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $15,433/yr in the Providence area versus $20,571/yr in Springfield - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Providence and Springfield are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Springfield composite
44.8 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
5.7 pts
Providence vs Springfield BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$207 /mo
Springfield priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Providence
Providence composite (Grade B-)
Springfield
Springfield composite (Grade C)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Providence | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 101.8 | 96.1 |
| Goods | 97.1 | 97.0 |
| Services | 148.8 | 155.0 |
| Rents | 103.9 | 75.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Springfield gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Providence?
$
Equivalent in Springfield:
$94,388
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Providence: 101.8, Springfield: 96.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Providence | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,203/mo | $1,219/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,230/mo | $1,382/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,527/mo | $1,734/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,831/mo | $2,127/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,289/mo | $2,296/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Providence | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $77,588 | $72,417 |
| Total Employment | 683,510 | 191,450 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Providence (RI) | Springfield (MA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 154.6 | 308.8 |
| Property Crime | 1040.1 | 1101.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | RI | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 309 | 1,831 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.8:1 | 12.3:1 |
| Charter Schools | 13.3% | 4.2% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | RI | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $15,433/yr | $20,571/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $14,883/yr | $18,516/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $13,066/yr | $14,656/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | RI | MA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 91 | 450 |
| Water Systems | 92 | 564 |
| Superfund Sites | 13 | 41 |
| Water Violations | 186 | 1,106 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Providence | Springfield |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.0 | 38.0 |
| Good Air Days | 76.2% | 78.1% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 3 days | 3 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | RI | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 5/100 | 6/100 |
| Total Violations | 33,766 | 73,886 |
| Health-Based Violations | 8,949 | 7,389 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.9% | 95.2% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | RI | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 40 | 168 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | RI | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 54/100 | 25/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 56.6 | 78.8 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 64.3 | 82.3 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Providence more expensive than Springfield? ▼
Providence has a cost of living index of 101.8 compared to Springfield's 96.1 (national average = 100). Providence is 5.7 points above Springfield on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Providence and Springfield? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,527/mo in Providence vs $1,734/mo in Springfield, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,203/mo to $1,219/mo.
How do salaries compare between Providence and Springfield? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $77,588 in Providence and $72,417 in Springfield, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Providence has the same purchasing power as $94,388 in Springfield.
Is Providence or Springfield safer? ▼
At the state level, RI has a violent crime rate of 154.6 per 100,000 residents compared to MA's 308.8 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1040.1 vs 1101.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Providence and Springfield? ▼
RI has 309 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.8:1, while MA has 1,831 schools at 12.3:1. Charter schools make up 13.3% of RI schools vs 4.2% in MA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial