Providence Counts assembles facts and figures from a variety of sources to illustrate different aspects of the city. This week we’re focusing on the geography of incarceration. More people from Providence are in jail than any other community in the state. High incarceration rates are related to many community problems, i.e. education, health, poverty, employment, etc. and disproportionately affect communities of color and impoverished neighborhoods.
162 Number/100,000 population incarcerated state-wide, on average
354 Number/100,000 population incarcerated, coming from Providence
38% Percentage of incarcerated population that come from Providence
17% Percentage of total state population that is Providence
29% Percentage of incarcerated population that is Black
24% Percentage of incarcerated population that is Latino
22% Percentage of poverty rate in Providence
11% Percentage of poverty rate, state-wide
Number of people in prison in 2020 from each Providence neighborhood
| Providence neighborhoods | Number of people incarcerated from each Providence neighborhood, 2020 | Census population, 2020 | Total population, 2020 | Incarceration rate 100,000 |
| Blackstone | 3 | 6,923 | 6,926 | 43 |
| Charles | 39 | 7,773 | 7,812 | 499 |
| College Hill | 4 | 11,388 | 11,392 | 35 |
| Downtown | 5 | 5,112 | 5,117 | 98 |
| Elmhurst | 22 | 12,175 | 12,197 | 180 |
| Elmwood | 51 | 11,685 | 11,736 | 435 |
| Federal Hill | 19 | 7,436 | 7,455 | 255 |
| Fox Point | 6 | 5,116 | 5,122 | 117 |
| Hartford | 27 | 7,910 | 7,937 | 340 |
| Hope | 5 | 3,519 | 3,524 | 142 |
| Lower South Providence | 33 | 6,814 | 6,847 | 482 |
| Manton | 18 | 4,797 | 4,815 | 374 |
| Mount Hope | 13 | 5,327 | 5,340 | 243 |
| Mount Pleasant | 45 | 11,148 | 11,193 | 402 |
| Olneyville | 40 | 7,514 | 7,554 | 530 |
| Reservoir | 7 | 3,437 | 3,444 | 203 |
| Silver Lake | 50 | 13,622 | 13,672 | 366 |
| Smith Hill | 40 | 7,308 | 7,348 | 544 |
| South Elmwood | 8 | 2,587 | 2,595 | 308 |
| Upper South Providence | 52 | 4,996 | 5,048 | 1,030 |
| Valley | 22 | 5,648 | 5,670 | 388 |
| Wanskuck | 62 | 12,897 | 12,959 | 478 |
| Washington Park | 32 | 8,776 | 8,808 | 363 |
| Wayland | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 0 |
| West End | 83 | 17,283 | 17,366 | 478 |
This data is excerpted from the Prison Policy Initiative, the Redistricting Data Hub, Common Cause RI, and the American Civil Liberties Union of RI, October, 2023. Data is available for all Rhode Island cities and towns.
