New York vs Pawtucket
The short version
- Pawtucket is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 10% lower than in the New York area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $325,500 in Pawtucket and $777,600 in New York.
- Households earn more in New York ($80,483 vs $68,310 median).
- Pawtucket is growing faster: +1.9% since 2020 vs -2.5%.
- Commutes are shorter in Pawtucket (26 vs 40 minutes each way).
Side by side
| New York, NY | Pawtucket, RI | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 8,584,629 | 77,065 |
| Growth since 2020 | -2.5% | +1.9% |
| People per square mile | 28,572 | 8,892 |
| Median age | 38.2 | 37.1 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 42% | 22% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $80,483 | $68,310 |
| Median home value | $777,600 | $325,500 |
| Home value to income | 9.7× | 4.8× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,821 | $1,208 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 112.6 | 101.8 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 148.6 | 103.9 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $84,400 | $76,300 |
| Homeowners | 33% | 50% |
| Top state income tax | 10.9% | 5.99% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.54% | 7% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 40.3 | 25.6 |
| Work from home | 17% | 9% |
| Take public transit | 44% | 3% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 8% | 7.3% |
| Poverty rate | 17.9% | 13.3% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 40° / 28° | 38° / 22° |
| July high / low | 85° / 70° | 84° / 65° |
| Precipitation per year | 50 in | 48 in |
| Snowfall per year | 30 in | 37 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 17 | 12 |
| Nights below freezing | 67 | 109 |
| Comfortable months | 3 | 6 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively Moderate |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 99.2 | 93.7 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 42% | 70% |
| Home prices, past year | +5.7% | +4.7% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +45.1% | +51.9% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: New York: May and September to October. Pawtucket: May to October.
Full monthly tables: New York weather by month and Pawtucket weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $84,400 in New York and $76,300 in Pawtucket. Moving from New York to Pawtucket, you would need about $67,800 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between New York and Pawtucket
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from New York and Pawtucket.
Which would you pick?
One vote per person. Results show after you vote.