Survey finds health care, housing, roads and bridges among top concerns
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The annual poll surveyed a representative sample of 500
Rhode Island residents ages 18 and older between Aug. 1 and Aug. 18, 2025.
Administered by the polling firm YouGov via the internet, survey participants
were chosen from YouGov’s opt-in survey panel of Rhode Island residents. The
margin of error for the poll is +/- 6.01%.
“In addition to core questions, each year the Rhode Island
Survey Initiative selects one major theme for in-depth study,” said Ashlea
Rundlett, URI associate professor of political science, who was a member of the
research team. “Given rising costs and the lack of affordable and available
housing across the state for people at many income levels, this year we felt it
pertinent to explore Rhode Islanders’ opinions on the topic.”
The most popular solutions to Rhode Island’s housing crisis were to focus on using what already exists—repairing existing affordable units (90%) and turning vacant or underused buildings into housing (87%). Rhode Islanders also support rent stabilization (72%), including caps on annual increases, and expanding voucher programs (64%). But when it comes to support for building different types of housing and where it should be located, opinions were decidedly mixed.
While Rhode Islanders broadly support every type of housing
at the state level (between 73% and 81%), their level of support dropped
significantly as those solutions got closer to home. For example, 42% said they
would support new single-family, market-rate homes in their own neighborhood,
while only 21% supported public housing and 17% supported homeless shelters.
However, 65% stated they support sanctioning towns that attempt to block
affordable housing.
“Across the board, we see comfort with public solutions,
particularly when it comes to the state directly increasing housing stock.
However, they’re less supportive of changing zoning rules to allow for more
housing to be built. In 2025, respondents’ priorities shifted away from
housing— the number one priority of 2024— to healthcare,” said Rundlett. “While
the survey didn’t go in-depth into healthcare solutions, respondents were open
to a variety of policy approaches to address the primary care shortage.”
In addition to perceptions on Rhode Island’s housing
problem, the survey also questioned Rhode Islanders on top priorities to be
addressed by Gov. McKee and the General Assembly; the extent to which the
Washington Bridge closure has affected their lives; opinions on how best to
address the state’s primary care shortage; as well as who they would be most
likely to vote for in the Democratic primary for governor.
Among the key findings are:
Key priorities/quality of life
When asked about key priorities for the governor and General
Assembly, health care surged as the top priority with 62% of respondents naming
it as one of the most important issues—up sharply from 42% in 2024. It was the
top priority for Democrats, Republicans and independents.
Housing (51%) and roads/bridges (41%) continued to rank high
in 2025—essentially unchanged from last year. Education (35%) and crime (25%)
also held steady as mid-tier concerns. Environmental issues split, with clean
energy falling from 15% last year to 9% this year, while protecting the
environment rose from 17% to 21%.
Satisfaction with quality of life in the Ocean State held
steady from last year’s survey, with 53% saying they are somewhat or very
satisfied with the overall quality of life in Rhode Island, virtually unchanged
from 52% in 2024.
Similarly, 22% said they believe the state of the Rhode
Island economy was somewhat strong or very strong—the same as in 2024.
A majority of respondents (65%) said that the Washington
Bridge closure has affected their lives to a small extent or not at all,
whereas 32% say that the bridge has affected their lives to some extent or to a
great extent.
Primary care shortage
In addressing the primary-care doctor shortage, 75% of
respondents somewhat support or strongly support creating a public medical
school at URI to train more primary care doctors. This was respondents’ most
favored approach listed, though all approaches received more than 50% support.
Other approaches included: providing loan-forgiveness
incentives to encourage primary care doctor graduates to stay and work in Rhode
Island (70% support); permanently increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for
primary care doctors (62%); and offering state-subsidized housing for primary
care doctors doing their residency in Rhode Island (64% support).
Democratic primary
Among self-identified Democrats and independents who are
registered to vote, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee ranked highest (18.5%) in a
four-way match-up with Attorney General Peter Neronha (15%), former president
of CVS Pharmacy Helena Foulkes (14.3%), and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi
(7.3%), with 4.25% naming other candidates. However, a remarkably high
percentage of voters (40.6%) have not yet decided. Researchers note that all
candidates are within the margin of error with one another in this survey.
Trust in government/politics
Trust in state and local government has held steady over the
past two years, with roughly 60% of respondents expressing a fair amount or a
great deal of trust in both. By contrast, trust in the federal government has
slipped noticeably in 2025, with 39% having a fair amount or a great deal of
trust in the federal government, compared with 54% in 2024.
Notably, 81% of Rhode Islanders stated they believe
political violence is somewhat of a problem or a very big problem—the same as
last year.
Media usage
Television remains the most common way respondents said they
get political news, with 56% saying they watch always or often in 2025, nearly
identical to last year. Use of print (19% always/often, down from 21% in 2024),
and radio (23%, down from 26%), all dipped slightly. News websites/apps saw a
larger decline from 55% to 44%.
Rhode Islanders’ use of social media to get political or
election news remained fairly consistent between 2024 and 2025. While most
people read political content, far fewer post or share it. Facebook and
YouTube remain the leading sites for political news, essentially unchanged
year-to-year (around 40-44% for each). Instagram use dropped from 33% to 28%,
while TikTok rose from 23% to 27%. Approximately 5% of respondents say they use
Truth Social on a typical day. However, 26% say they don’t use social media for
news at all, up from 21% in 2024.
“While there are national polls that also focus on housing,
our survey results offer a detailed picture of Rhode Islanders’ perceptions of
the housing crisis and their support for various solutions, as well as media
use, trust in government, the economy, quality of life, and other issues
pertinent to the Ocean State,” said Julie Keller, URI associate professor of
sociology and director of the Social Science Institute for Research, Education,
and Policy. “Our third annual survey offers much more than just a glimpse of
where Rhode Islanders stand on these issues, and we’re thrilled to be sharing
these results with the public.”
About the survey
The Rhode Island Survey Initiative was launched in 2023 by a
team of researchers from the University of Rhode Island’s Harrington School of
Communication and Media; URI’s Social Science Institute for Research,
Education, and Policy; and the URI Department of Political Science, with plans
to conduct at least one survey of Rhode Island residents each year. Each poll
includes a different focus area, with some repeated questions to gauge the
change in attitudes of Rhode Island residents. RISI is supported by URI’s
College of Arts and Sciences and the Harrington School of Communication and
Media. RISI also receives additional support from the John Hazen White Sr.
Center for Ethics and Public Service.
Keller says the survey initiative reflects the institute’s
goal of providing evidence-based insights to communities across Rhode Island.
To learn more, or to view the report in its entirety, visit
the Rhode
Island Survey Initiative.
Note about methodology
Party identification was constructed using the seven-point
scale in which self-identified Democrats and independent-leaning Democrats were
combined into the “Democrat” category; self-identified Republicans and
independent-leaning Republicans were combined into the “Republican” category;
and independents are in the “Independent” category.
