Newport spent more per resident on police and fire protection in fiscal 2024 than any other city or town in Rhode Island, according to a report released this week by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council.
The city spent $746 per capita on police, the highest in the state and nearly three times the $266 spent in Central Falls, and $840 per capita on fire protection, also the highest and more than double the $396 statewide average. Combined, that comes to $1,586 per resident, compared with $846 statewide.
Newport was one of eight communities where combined police and fire spending topped $1,000 per capita, along with Johnston, Narragansett, Warwick, Cranston, Smithfield, Providence and East Greenwich. Six communities spent below $500: West Greenwich, South Kingstown, Richmond, Bristol, Foster and Exeter.
Newport also ranked first in total non-education spending per capita, at $3,272. Providence was second at $2,766 and Narragansett third at $2,713.
RIPEC cautions that per-capita figures count only full-time residents, a limitation the report says applies particularly to Newport and Providence. The report notes that Newport’s staffing levels “may in part reflect the substantial number of seasonal residents and visitors it serves who are not captured in its full-time resident population.”
On Aquidneck Island and in the East Bay, combined police and fire spending was $888 per capita in Middletown, $858 in Portsmouth, $803 in Little Compton, $663 in Tiverton and $660 in Jamestown. Jamestown devoted the second-smallest share of its non-education budget to police and fire of any community in the state, at 28.3 percent.
Newport’s staffing levels are the highest in Rhode Island in both departments. The city has 3.4 police officers per 1,000 residents, against an FBI-referenced New England benchmark of 1.8 for communities its size, and 3.8 professional firefighters per 1,000 residents, more than twice the level in Barrington. Newport officers handled 282 calls for service each, among the lowest in the state; Providence was lowest at 247, while Little Compton, Barrington and Central Falls each topped 1,000.
Pension costs are a larger share of Newport’s fire budget than almost anywhere else. More than a third of the city’s fire department spending went to pension obligations, one of three communities above that mark along with Providence and Warwick. Newport’s fire pension spending of $7.5 million was 91 percent of the $8.2 million it spent on firefighter compensation, and its cost per active member exceeded $75,000, one of only seven communities above $50,000.
Unlike six of those seven, Newport’s plan is not in critical funding status. Rhode Island considers a locally administered plan critical when it is less than 60 percent funded.
Day-to-day operations account for a small share of the city’s fire budget. Newport was among three communities, with Warwick and Providence, where operations made up 5 percent or less of total fire spending, compared with 25 percent in Middletown.
Statewide, RIPEC found Rhode Island’s fire protection spending ranked first in the nation per capita in fiscal 2024, at 1.8 times the national average, while police spending ranked ninth. Police and fire together made up about a quarter of all municipal spending.
The business-backed research group argues the spending isn’t matched by need. Rhode Island had the fourth-lowest violent crime rate and third-lowest property crime rate in the country in 2024. Fire-related calls made up about 2 percent of fire department calls in 2023, while emergency medical calls accounted for roughly 70 percent.
“Rhode Island spends considerably more on police and fire protection than most of the country, particularly on fire protection,” said RIPEC President and CEO Michael DiBiase. “Yet, there is little evidence that the state has a greater need for these services.”
The report attributes much of the gap to staffing. Rhode Island ranked first nationally in professional firefighters per capita in 2025, with nearly twice as many as the country overall, which relies more on volunteers. The state’s median firefighter salary of $67,380 ranked 12th; median police salary ranked 20th.
RIPEC recommends slowing growth in both police and fire spending, strengthening reporting requirements, limiting costly state mandates and exploring options to reduce pension costs.
The full report is at ripec.org.
