Rhode Island Women's Well-Being Index

An online, interactive tool, the Women's Well-Being Index provides access to publicly available data specific to regional, city, and statewide levels and aggregated for gender and race.

Step 1: Choose Your Geography map

Step 2: Choose Your Topic pie_chart

In , you will find

Female Population by Age

This graph illustrates the distribution of the female population across different age groups, highlighting notable demographic trends. The population peaks in the 20-64 age range, reflecting a higher concentration of working-age women, before experiencing a sharp decline after age 70.

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B01001

Female Race & Ethnicity

Counting race is generally complicated.

The US Census Bureau distinguishes between race (eg Asian or Black) and Hispanic ethnicity. In this bar chart, for all but the white non-Hispanic group, counts include those women who self-identify as Hispanic or Latina. Hispanic group includes women of all races. Therefore, the total value of 7 bars exceeds the actual population of females in the area.

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, tables B01001B through B01001I

Females by US Citizenship Status

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B05003

Marital Status

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B12001

Earnings for Full-Time Female Workers

The bar charts below shows the distribution of earnings of full-time female workers, by race and Hispanic ethnicity. Use the dropdown to view data for for a select race/ethnicity.

Note that data is missing for many racial categories. Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, tables B20005, and B20005B through B20005I

Female Poverty by Race/Ethnicity

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, tables B17001B through B17001I

Employment and Labor Force Participation home_work

Labor force includes females aged 16 and over who are available to work. Those in the labor force are generally split into employed and unemployed. Those not in labor force often include students, retirees, and those who take care of children or other family members.

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B12006

Female Households Without Spouse Receiving Food Stamps/SNAP

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B22002

Employment and Median Earnings by Occupation

The bar charts below represent the number of women employed in a particular occupation field, and the median earnings of women in that field. Data are not available for all geographies. In general, median earnings of women working in STEM and management fields are highest.

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table C24020

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B24022

Gender Pay Gap

The chart below shoes the median weekly earnings of full-time female workers as a percent of full-time male workers.

Source: US Department of Labor, 1998–2024 (Table 3), (annual averages)

Educational Attainment

school

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates

Median Earnings of Females by Educational Attainment

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B20004

Clinical Care for Women in Rhode Island and Nearby States

This report assesses women's clinical care quality, ranking the state 3rd nationally in the Clinical Care category with a State Value of 1.114, reflecting above-average performance among the 50 states. Rhode Island excels in access to care: prenatal care ranks 6th (83.9% of mothers received adequate care), the state has no maternity care deserts, and its uninsured rate among women ranks 4th (5.1%). Flu vaccination also ranks highly (2nd, 52.1%). However, dental visits (33rd, 63.9%), cervical cancer screening (34th, 50.7%), and low-risk cesarean delivery (39th, 28.0%) indicate opportunities for improvement in preventive and quality care measures.

Females Without Health Insurance

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B27001

Females with Birth in Past 12 Months

The pie chart on the left shows the share of females aged 15-50 who gave birth in the past 12 months and the pie chart on the right shows their marital status. Now married includes women who are separated whose spouses are absent. Unmarried includes women who are divorced, widowed, or have never been married.

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates, table B13002 (including subtables B through I)

Homeownership Rate by Race

Historically in the US, racial minorities have been less likely to own their homes than their white peers. In Rhode Island, things are not much different. The bar chart below shows the proportion of households who own their home, by race/ethnicity of the main householder.

home

Source: ACS 2024 5-year estimates

Median Gross Rent

Median gross rent is a typical rent paid by the "middle" household when ranked from lowest to highest rent. It includes estimated monthly utility and fuel costs.

Average Contract Rent

Contract rent is the amount paid by a tenant to the owner of the property. It does not include utility bills. Unlike the median, the average rent can be skewed by more expensive properties.

Average Gross Rent

Average gross rent is estimated from the aggregted gross rent paid by all rental households in the area, divided by the number of rental households. Unlike the median, it can be skewed by more expensive properties.

Source: 2024 American Community Survey, 5-year estimates

REPRESENTATION



In Rhode Island’s 2024 election cycle, 279 women won seats vs. 382 men. Overall, women accounted for 42% of elected offices. 51 women were elected to Rhode Island's General Assembly, resulting in 45% representation by women. Only one woman was elected to Executive Office (Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos).

Representation by Gender - Categories



CITY AND TOWN COUNCILS include: own Council, City Council, Non-Partisan Town Council, Council, Non-Partisan Council At Large, Council - City Wide, City Council - At Large, Council-At-Large, Non-Partisan Council, Non-Partisan City Council, "Without Party Marks Or Designation" Council, "Without Party Marks Or Designation" Council At-Large

COMMISSIONS include: Non-Partisan Planning Commission, Charter Commission, Water Commissioner, Charter Commission - At Large

SCHOOL BOARDS include: School Committee, Non-Partisan School Committee, Chariho School Committee, "Without Party Marks Or Designation" School Committee, Non-Partisan School Committee District 2, Non-Partisan Regional School Committee, School Committee Unexpired Term, Non-Partisan School Committee District 3, School Committee At-Large, Non-Partisan School Committee District 1, "Without Party Marks Or Designation" School Committee At-Large, Non-Partisan School Committee - City Wide, Non-Partisan Bristol/Warren Regional School Committee

STATE HOUSE AND SENATE include: Representative In General Assembly, Senator In General Assembly

STATE/CITY OFFICERS include: Town Clerk, Non-Partisan Mayor, Town Treasurer, Lieutenant Governor, Director Of Public Welfare, Director Of Social Services, Non-Partisan Town Clerk, Mayor, Town Sergeant, Town Administrator, Governor, Attorney General, Director Of Human Services, Secretary Of State, General Treasurer

OTHER includes: Representative In Congress District 1, Representative In Congress District 2, Non-Partisan Fire Committee, Moderator, Tax Board Of Review, Non-Partisan Block Island Land Trust Trustee, Non-Partisan Fire Committee At-Large, Town Moderator, Zoning Inspector, Assistant Moderator, Second Warden, First Warden, Non-Partisan Fire Committee At-Large, Non-Partisan Budget Committee, Board Of Assessment Review, Judge Of Probate

Rhode Island Legislation Representation by Gender and Geography

Rhode Island Elected Officials, 2024