Central Falls, RI
Providence County · Rhode Island · United States
Home to 22,481 people across 1.194 square miles.
At a glance
02863 by the numbers
Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.
Location
Where 02863 is
| Coordinates | 41.890064, -71.393481 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | America/New_York |
| County | Providence County |
| State | Rhode Island (RI) |
| Land area | 1.194 mi² |
| Coordinate source | Census ZCTA internal point |
Local time
America/New_York
Current weather
Live from the National Weather Service
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Distance to major cities
Straight-line, computed from coordinates
| Boston, MA | 36.7 mi |
|---|---|
| New York, NY | 158.1 mi |
| Philadelphia, PA | 238.1 mi |
| Chicago, IL | 833.9 mi |
People
Who lives in 02863
22,481 residents in 7,487 households, averaging 3.0 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 26.9% of residents, and 70.1% of households are families.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 7,487 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 3.0 |
| Family households | 70.1% |
| Living alone | 23.4% |
| Median age | 31.9 years |
| Households with internet | 83.8% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 02863
The median household here earns $45,921 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 02863 ahead of 11% of American ZIP codes. 22.3% of residents live below the poverty line.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | $45,921 ±$6,031 |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $20,202 |
| Poverty rate | 22.3% |
| Unemployment rate | 10.0% |
| Labor force participation | 61.2% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 11.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 60.4% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 02863
A typical home is valued at $300,500, and median rent runs $1,118 a month. This is a renter-majority area — 71.4% of occupied homes are rented, and the typical building went up in 1944.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $300,500 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $1,118/mo |
| Median year built | 1944 |
| Housing units | 8,341 |
| Vacancy rate | 10.2% |
Own vs. rent
Of 7,487 occupied units
| Owner households | 2,139 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 5,348 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 02863 commutes
65.0% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 27.3 minutes.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 27.3 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 02863
ZIP code 02863 is assigned to Central Falls, RI, and falls within Providence County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 22,481 people live inside it.
At 18,828 residents per square mile spread over 1.194 square miles, 02863 reads as a dense urban area. It is a mid-sized postal code by population, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.
Household earnings are well below the national median. At $45,921, 02863 ranks among the lower-income postal codes, ahead of 11% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.
Living here
What life in Central Falls looks like
Housing in 02863 costs close to the national median. A typical home is valued at $300,500 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $1,118 a month. This is firmly renter territory — 71.4% of occupied homes are rented, a pattern typical of city centres, student areas and neighbourhoods with a lot of apartment stock.
The building stock is dominated by small multi-family buildings of two to four units, which account for 65.4% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1944, making the housing here largely pre-war.
The population skews younger than the country as a whole, with a median age of 31.9 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 3.0 people, and 70.1% are family households.
Getting to work takes 27.3 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 65.0% of workers.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Central Falls, RI
Central Falls sits in a densely built environment, and accommodation in and around 02863 tends to reflect that — full-service hotels, boutique properties and serviced apartments packed close together, usually within walking distance of transit. Rates in dense urban codes move sharply with the calendar: midweek business demand and weekend leisure demand can price very differently.
Median rent in 02863 is $1,118 a month, which sits in the middle of the national range; accommodation pricing locally tends to be similarly mid-market. For reference, Boston, MA is about 36.7 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.
Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.
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Practical uses
What ZIP code 02863 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 02863 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.
For anyone weighing a move, 02863 offers a compact profile of Central Falls: 22,481 residents, a median household income of $45,921, 11.5% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 10.0%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.
One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 02863 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Central Falls may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.
Nearby
ZIP codes near 02863
The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every Rhode Island ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.
More in Providence County
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Questions
Common questions about 02863
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Methodology
Where this data comes from
- Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
- Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 02863. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
- Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
- Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
- Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).