State Profile

Rhode Island

Population (2019): 1,059 million

Rhode Island’s public health outcomes stack up unevenly against those of the United States, but it has taken several steps that strengthened its preparedness for public health emergencies. Deaths owed to drug misuse, alcohol, or suicide outpace the country as a whole. Its rates of obesity and related conditions indicate a mixed picture, with the percentage of adults with obesity lower than the U.S. median, even as rates of diabetes and hypertension rank in the middle of the pack. Finally, the state achieved a score of nine out of a possible 10 measures of public health preparedness for diseases, disasters, and bioterrorism.