Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council
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Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council

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Rhode Island’s Road and Bridge Program: High Spending, Heavy Debt, Uneven Results

State Finance / By

Spending on bridges and roads represents one of Rhode Island’s most substantial capital commitments, with over $1 billion expended annually in combined state and federal revenues. Launched in 2016, the RhodeWorks program reduced the number of structurally deficient bridges in the state by nearly half through targeted spending. However, this concentrated focus came with trade-offs:

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Rhode Island Police and Fire Spending Very High and Growing

Municipal Finance / By

Rhode Island spends substantially more on police and fire protection than most states. Funded largely through local revenues, these expenditures are key drivers of the property tax burden of Rhode Island residents and businesses. The taxpayer burden varies considerably across communities, reflecting differences in how these services are delivered and wide variations in staffing, compensation,

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Rhode Island Labor Market Weakens in Q2 2026

Economic development, Economic Indicators / By

PROVIDENCE, RI – – Rhode Island’s labor market weakened in the second quarter of 2026, with a sharp decline in labor force participation and a substantial drop in the number of employed Rhode Islanders, according to the Rhode Island Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Quarterly Briefing released by the Center for Global and Regional Economic Studies

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Rhode Island’s Medicaid Trajectory

Budget, Expenditures, Human services, Medicaid, State Finance / By

State Policy and Rising Health Care Costs Push Spending Past Revenues Despite Declining Enrollments Under New Federal Restrictions Rhode Island’s Medicaid program represents the state’s largest public investment, representing over one-third of total state budget spending. Medicaid provides a critical safety net for nearly three in ten Rhode Islanders and fuels the state’s healthcare sector. However, sustaining this massive program poses a critical fiscal challenge.  RIPEC’s comprehensive

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Rhode Island’s K-12 System: High But Uneven Spending, Middling Results

Charter, Education, Elementary and Secondary Education, Funding, Regionalization / By

Rhode Island’s large investment ($3.66 billion) in elementary and secondary education has not yielded correspondingly high levels of student outcomes.  Analyzing Rhode Island’s K-12 spending and outcomes, RIPEC’s new report finds that the Ocean State’s per pupil spending levels are 8th highest in the nation. The report also finds wide variation in spending and outcomes across the

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Rhode Island’s Economic Prosperity Scorecard

Economic development, Economic Indicators / By

Rhode Island’s Economic Prosperity Scorecard Rhode Island’s Economic Prosperity Scorecard provides a data-driven snapshot of the financial well-being of the state’s residents and the health of its economy.  Utilizing a set of widely used federal economic data, the Scorecard compares Rhode Island to the U.S. overall and to other states, with a particular focus on neighboring

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Chronic Absenteeism in Rhode Island: Significant Gains but Uneven Results

Education, Elementary and Secondary Education / By

Chronic Absenteeism in Rhode Island Attendance Matters RI appears to have helped drive a sharp improvement in student attendance, reducing chronic absenteeism from its post-pandemic peak and producing one of the largest declines nationwide. However, absenteeism remains a serious concern, with 22.1% of students chronically absent in 2024–25 and rates exceeding 40% in some district,

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Mixed Performance for Rhode Island Economy in Q4 2025

Economic development, Economic Indicators / By

PROVIDENCE, RI – Rhode Island’s economy experienced mixed performance in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Rhode Island Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Quarterly Briefing, released by the Center for Global and Regional Economic Studies at Bryant University and RIPEC. Employment—reflecting the number of employed Rhode Islanders—continued a positive trajectory for a second consecutive

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RIPEC Analyzes November Revenue and Caseload Estimates

Budget, Revenues, Tax Policy, Taxation / By

Despite Steady Revenue Growth and Drop in Medicaid Enrollment, Structural Deficit Still Looms Over Rhode Island Rhode Island’s Revenue and Caseload Estimating Conferences play a central role in the state budget process by setting the available general revenues and the expected expenditures for Medicaid and other public assistance programs. The November 2025 Conferences provided updated

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How Rhode Island Taxing and Spending Compares

All, Municipal Finance, State Finance, Tax Policy / By

How Rhode Island Compares: State and Local Taxing and Spending How Rhode Island Compares uses the most recent available state and local revenue and expenditure data—for fiscal year (FY) 2023—to compare taxing and spending in the Ocean State to the United States and the New England region. Across 31 revenue and spending categories, this report

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