Providence Apartments & Neighborhood Guide

Providence is Rhode Island's capital and largest city, and the one most renters picture first. It is home to Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), both set on College Hill above downtown. The Innovation District around the train station has pulled offices, labs, and new apartment construction toward downtown over the past decade, and the Providence River itself is the center of WaterFire, the recurring bonfire-and-art installation that draws crowds to the riverwalk.

Because Providence is a rail stop on the same line as Boston, commuting out of state is realistic from here in a way it is not from most of the rest of Rhode Island — a detail worth weighing against the city's relatively dense, walkable layout if a car-free routine matters to you.