Median pay · Rhode Island
$56,780A year, or $27 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile1 in 10 earn less | $32,470 | $16 |
| 25th percentile | $39,780 | $19 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $56,780 | $27 |
| 75th percentile | $85,200 | $41 |
| 90th percentile1 in 10 earn more | $128,120 | $62 |
| MeanAll pay divided by all jobs | $71,900 | $35 |
All occupations combined. Individual occupations vary far more than this figure suggests. The tables below show the spread.
How we got this
- Median wage in Rhode IslandBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of all wage earners here were paid more than this, half less.$56,780
- Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$27.30
- Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$3,856 a month at an effective rate of 18.5%.$46,273 a year
- Worth at national average pricesPrices in Rhode Island sit at 102.3 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$55,514
- Against the national medianThe national median is $50,980.11.4% above
- Jobs countedWage and salary jobs; the self-employed are not surveyed.501,340
What we assumed
- Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
- OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
- Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
- Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
Questions
Pay in Rhode Island: common questions
What is the average salary in Rhode Island?
$71,900 a year, or $34.57 an hour, across every job the Bureau of Labor Statistics surveyed in Rhode Island for May 2025.
The median is lower, $56,780: half of workers earn more and half earn less. The average sits above it because a smaller number of very high salaries pull it up, so the median is closer to what a typical worker makes.
What is a good salary in Rhode Island?
Anything over $56,780 pays more than half the jobs in Rhode Island. $85,200 puts you in the top quarter and $128,120 in the top 10%.
A single person on the median keeps about $3,856 a month after federal, state and FICA tax.
What are the highest-paying jobs in Rhode Island?
By median pay: emergency medicine physicians ($512,730), family medicine physicians ($467,160), ophthalmologists ($450,370), cardiologists ($395,610) and internal medicine physicians ($379,490). The table on this page lists the top 25.
What are the most common jobs in Rhode Island?
By number of jobs: fast food or counter workers ($31,490), retail salespersons ($34,860), nursing assistants ($46,440), waiters or waitresses ($35,420) and registered nurses ($100,640), with the median pay for each.