Every city in this picturesque New England state is unaffordable for the average homebuyer

Recent data has revealed that America’s smallest state has no affordable metros left — and 2026 promises little improvement. 

Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com, told the Daily Mail that supply shortages are driving Rhode Island’s prolonged housing crunch. 

All eight of Rhode Island’s cities are now unaffordable for average earners, the analysis concluded. That includes Providence, Warwick, Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence, Woonsocket, Newport and Central Falls.

Prices in the coastal state have risen on an annual basis for 21 months straight, Kimmel told the outlet, elevating most recently to a median price point of $540,000 in January.   

The desirable New England destination is the smallest US state by area and the seventh smallest by population, with around 1.1 million residents. It continues to attract newcomers with its vast coastline, saltbox mansions and acclaimed seafood. 

The Kennedy family and celebrities like Taylor Swift maintain historic homes along the coveted coastline. Swift’s $18 million mansion in Westerly, purchased in 2013, dates back to the late 1920s.

The country’s median household income sat at $83,730 in 2024, according to the most recently available census data. That figure is slightly higher in Rhode Island, yet buyers there need to earn an annual income of roughly $130,000 in order to afford a median single-family home on a 30-year fixed mortgage, a Realtor.com analysis found. 

The Block Island town of New Shoreham is the state’s most expensive destination, with homes there fetching a median price tag of around $3.5 million. Similarly eye-popping price tags dot towns and cities along Narragansett Bay.

The state’s renter population is feeling the squeeze as well, needing an estimated $60,000 income in order to afford an average two-bedroom rental. The state’s renters earn an average of $48,343, according to Realtor.com.

Prices are more forgiving in inland metros like Kent and Providence, Chris Lewis, head of research at financial advice site FinanceBuzz, told the Daily Mail. Homes there are listed lower than their coastal counterparts by 30% or more.

The state’s short supply can be linked to out-of-state demand and a mortgage lock-in effect, Lewis said. The latter, in which homeowners are delaying moving in order to hold onto their ultra-low mortgage rates, has kept housing supplies low in in-demand locales across the country. 

Just 1,100 Rhode Island homes sat on the market in January, Kimmel told the outlet. That limited supply is unlikely to budge any time soon.

Far fewer homes are underway in the state’s narrow construction pipeline, Kimmel said, spelling continued price hikes ahead. 

Hope for homebuyers and renters alike is most likely to come in the form of political intervention, according to Lewis. 

Rhode Island politicians are pushing for strategies to lower housing costs, like increasing building permits and encouraging developer-friendly policies. Such a strategy certainly worked in Austin, Texas, where a post-pandemic housing boom has flipped the metro into a renter’s market.