PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island continues to make virtually no progress in improving quality-of-life metrics for residents, according to the 2025 RI Life Index report released on Wednesday.
The annual report, a joint initiative by the Brown University School of Public Health and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, gave the overall quality of life for state residents a score of 57 out of 100, presenting no shift from the 2024 report.
But the score represents a decrease of six points compared with 2021 and stands as the lowest grade the report has issued since its 2019 launch. Results dramatically decreased at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and have generally remained stable since that time, the report notes, with significant progress lacking.
The report bases its overall score on metrics such as cost of living, affordable housing, health care access, job opportunities, food security, quality of community, community life, access to nutritious food, and programs and services for older adults and children. These individual categories also saw little year-over-year change, the report notes.
The 2025 report reflects the views of 2,117 survey participants from throughout the state.
With a score of 21 out of 100, cost of living, like the 2024 report, was the lowest-scoring metric recorded in the report, followed by affordable housing, with a score of 30. Both metrics remained virtually unchanged from the 2024 report, though the affordable housing grade has declined by 14 points since 2020.
The health care access score dropped to 65 from 68 year over year in the 2025 report, with Black, Latino and residents of "core" cities (Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket) disproportionately impacted.
Results also showed disparities in food security, with residents of core cities more likely to experience hardships related to food access. Food security received a score of 78, but access to nutritious food was lower at 65.
Additionally, the report notes, data was collected in the first half of 2025, before reductions to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and the federal government shutdown. Data collection also occurred shortly after Anchor Medical Associates, a major care provider, announced its closing.
"By following Rhode Islanders’ views on the factors that shape their health and quality of life year after year, the RI Life Index shows not just what people are struggling with ... but what is (or is not) getting better," said Dr. Francesca Beaudoin, interim dean of Brown's School of Public Health.
"Seven years of results make clear this year isn’t just a blip," Beaudoin continued. "It’s part of a longer pattern, suggesting many people feel the conditions that impact daily life haven’t meaningfully changed. That perspective helps guide research and gives policymakers, community groups and health leaders a clearer target for building healthier, more equitable communities statewide."
Martha L. Wofford, CEO and president of Blue Cross, said the latest index results "reflect the many challenges that Rhode Islanders continue to face in their everyday lives, from finding safe, affordable housing to putting nutritious food on the table.
"Understanding those challenges through the index enables us to rally around a collective agenda to improve health and well-being for all Rhode Islanders," Wofford added.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
