Rhode Island Standard of Need

November 10, 2010

Every two years, The Economic Progress Institute publishes The Rhode Island Standard of Need (RISN) to provide an accurate picture of how much it costs to live in Rhode Island, and to show how government assistance programs help families meet basic needs.

The 2010 RISN found that it cost a single parent family nearly $50,000, and a two-parent family almost $54,000, to raise two young children. It cost an individual over $20,600 to meet basic needs. To meet these costs, families and individuals need significant earnings, anywhere from two- to three-times the federal poverty level.

The study demonstrates how tax credits and government assistance programs, such as SNAP food assistance, subsidized child care and RIte Care health insurance, help close the gap between earnings and expenses for families with low to moderate wages.

View full reports from prior years’ Rhode Island Standard of Need