Foster Center, RI population, income and ZIP codes

Foster Center CDP is a very small community in Rhode Island, with 328 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #34 of 36 ranked by population — larger than 5% of them. The median age here is 45.2 years against 39.1 nationally, a markedly older profile that usually tracks retirees staying put and younger households leaving for work. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in Foster Center CDP earn a median of $56,027 a year, 28.7% below the national figure of $78,538 and 40% below the $93,653 median for the 28 Rhode Island cities we cover. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 6.7% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Foster Center CDP is valued at $450,000, 48.3% above the national figure and 26% above the $358,200 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,245 a month, 11.5% below the national figure, or roughly $14,940 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 26.7% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 8×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is out of reach on local earnings alone and the ownership market leans on outside income, equity or dual high earners. 38.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, a renter-majority market, so rent figures matter more here than the home-value line. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

Home values sit at 8× median household income, far past the 3.9× national mark, so ownership costs here are set by something other than local wages — second homes, retirees with equity, or commuters earning elsewhere. With 328 residents, a handful of survey responses moves every median on this page. Compare Foster Center CDP against its county rather than against national figures.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.