NEWPORT, R.I. — Owning a typical single-family house in Newport now calls for a yearly income of $459,600, according to the 2026 Housing Fact Book, the yearly study published Friday by the Roger Williams University research group HousingWorks RI.
That puts Newport second in Rhode Island, behind only New Shoreham on Block Island. The gap with what residents actually make is stark: the city’s median household income is $86,313, under a fifth of the amount the report says a buyer needs.
The driver is price. Newport’s median single-family sale reached $1.51 million in 2025, up 94% from roughly $779,600 in 2020. The report pegs the monthly payment on that home at $11,490.
The figure comes from a fixed model applied to every city and town so they can be compared. The math starts with 3.5% down and a 6.6% rate on a 30-year mortgage, adds local property taxes, insurance and FHA mortgage insurance, and then applies the federal guideline that housing should take no more than 30% of income. A buyer putting 20% down would need less, and the model leaves out homestead exemptions.
Renting is closer to reach but still tight. Average rent on a two-bedroom unit in Newport hit $2,194, a 19% rise over the same five years, which calls for an income of $87,743, slightly above the city median.
The squeeze runs across Newport County. Jamestown requires about $307,186, Little Compton $288,451, Portsmouth $241,584 and Middletown $231,824. Tiverton is the county’s least expensive at $161,650, still close to double the $87,796 that a typical Rhode Island household earns. Statewide, even Woonsocket, the cheapest market, calls for $128,808.
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Filed under: Newport RI Business News
