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PantryPath Research · Rural & Persistent Poverty Atlas

Rural poverty in Rhode Island

0 persistent-poverty counties

Rhode Island has 0 nonmetro counties and no counties flagged by USDA ERS for persistent poverty. The state's all-ages poverty rate is 10.9% and child poverty is 13.3%.

0

Persistent-poverty counties

0

Nonmetro counties (RUCC 4–9)

0

Residents in PPCs

5

Total counties

Rhode Island by county

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Toggle between the rural hunger risk score, all-ages poverty, child poverty, the Rural-Urban Continuum Code, and the binary persistent-poverty flag. Hover a county for its ERS typology and ACS poverty rate.

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Rhode Island at a glance

Poverty rate

10.9%

All ages, ACS S1701

Child poverty

13.3%

Under 18

PPC share

0.0%

Of counties in state

Nonmetro share

0.0%

RUCC 4–9

Pantries / 100K

4.66

PantryPath verified

Risk score (mean)

0.04

Composite 0–1

"Pantries / 100K" divides Rhode Island's 51 verified PantryPath pantries by the state population — a minimum-density indicator, not a saturated census. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 5 in Rhode Island.

Highest rural hunger risk

Composite 0–1 score

  1. 1 Providence 0.05
  2. 2 Newport 0.03
  3. 3 Washington 0.03
  4. 4 Kent 0.03
  5. 5 Bristol 0.03

Highest poverty rate

ACS all-ages

  1. 1 Providence 13.0%
  2. 2 Newport 8.6%
  3. 3 Washington 8.0%
  4. 4 Kent 7.4%
  5. 5 Bristol 6.8%

Persistent-poverty counties

PPCs ranked by current poverty

Rhode Island has no persistent-poverty counties in the 2025 ERS typology.

Every county in Rhode Island

All 5 counties with RUCC, typology flags, and ACS poverty data.

County RUCC PPC Flags Poverty Child poverty Population Risk
Bristol 1 — — 6.8% 4.5% 50,568 0.03
Kent 1 — Housing 7.4% 6.6% 170,658 0.03
Newport 1 — Housing 8.6% 11.6% 85,095 0.03
Providence 1 — Housing 13.0% 16.6% 658,977 0.05
Washington 1 — — 8.0% 6.5% 130,073 0.03

Find a food pantry in Rhode Island

Search Rhode Island's 51 verified pantries, food banks, and meal programs — filtered by city, open-now status, and service type.

Rhode Island pantry directory

Rhode Island SNAP

Income limits, application steps, and EBT card details for residents of persistent-poverty counties and beyond.

Rhode Island SNAP guide

Emergency food help

National hotlines, 211 referrals, and same-day food options — critical in rural counties where the nearest pantry may be 30+ miles away.

Emergency food

Food deserts atlas

Rural poverty and low food access often overlap. Compare persistent-poverty counties to USDA's low-income / low-access food desert designations.

Rhode Island food deserts

Methodology

How we combined USDA ERS typology codes, the Rural-Urban Continuum, ACS poverty data, and PantryPath's own pantry directory — plus the risk-score formula.

Full methodology