Kingston, RI
Washington County · Rhode Island · United States
Home to 7,183 people across 3.368 square miles.
At a glance
02881 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 02881 is
| Coordinates | 41.482429, -71.52651 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | America/New_York |
| County | Washington County |
| State | Rhode Island (RI) |
| Land area | 3.368 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 | 65.2 mi |
|---|---|
| New York, NY | 139.6 mi |
| Philadelphia, PA | 217.9 mi |
| Chicago, IL | 830.2 mi |
People
Who lives in 02881
7,183 residents in 1,059 households, averaging 6.78 people per household. The largest age group is 18-24 at 77.7% of residents.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 1,059 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 6.78 |
| Family households | 48.7% |
| Living alone | 32.1% |
| Median age | 19.8 years |
| Households with internet | 90.0% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 02881
Income data is suppressed for this ZIP code.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | — ±— |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $12,951 |
| Poverty rate | 35.4% |
| Unemployment rate | 9.6% |
| Labor force participation | 40.2% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 82.7% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 98.1% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 02881
A typical home is valued at $481,000, and median rent runs $1,368 a month. Ownership is close to even at 43.4% owned, and the typical building went up in 1975.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $481,000 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $1,368/mo |
| Median year built | 1975 |
| Housing units | 1,247 |
| Vacancy rate | 15.1% |
Own vs. rent
Of 1,059 occupied units
| Owner households | 460 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 599 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 02881 commutes
50.8% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 17.3 minutes.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 17.3 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 02881
ZIP code 02881 is assigned to Kingston, RI, and falls within Washington 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 7,183 people live inside it.
At 2,133 residents per square mile spread over 3.368 square miles, 02881 reads as a suburban area. It is a smaller 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.
Living here
What life in Kingston looks like
Housing in 02881 costs well above the national median. A typical home is valued at $481,000 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $1,368 a month. The split between owning and renting is fairly even at 43.4% owner-occupied, which tends to indicate a mix of housing types rather than one dominant form.
The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 52.5% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1975, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.
The population skews notably young, with a median age of 19.8 against 42 nationally. Households are relatively large at 6.78 people on average, with 48.7% classified as family households.
Getting to work takes 17.3 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 50.8% of workers, while 33.6% walk. Commute patterns are one of the better proxies for how a place actually functions day to day.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Kingston, RI
Kingston is largely suburban in character. Accommodation here skews toward mid-range chain hotels and extended-stay properties positioned near highway junctions and business parks, which suits anyone driving in or visiting for work rather than sightseeing.
Median rent in 02881 is $1,368 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 65.2 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 02881 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 02881 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, 02881 offers a compact profile of Kingston: 7,183 residents, 82.7% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 9.6%. 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. 02881 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Kingston 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 02881
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 Washington County
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Questions
Common questions about 02881
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Can ZIP code 02881 change?
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 02881. 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).