What stands out worked out from the figures below

Johnston has grown the fastest since 2010 (+2.8%).

Scituate has the most people working from home (13.3%).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Johnston	Scituate
People
Population	29,835Highest	10,517Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	+2.8%Highest RI: +4.3%	+0.5%Lowest RI: +4.3%
Median age	44.5±2.5Lowest 10% above RI	49.9±4Highest 23% above RI
	Scituate and Johnston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	17.5%±2.4Highest RI: 18.8%	14.9%±3.3Lowest RI: 18.8%
	Johnston and Scituate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	22.1%±2.6Lowest RI: 18.7%	25.2%±4.3Highest RI: 18.7%
	Scituate and Johnston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	28.9%Lowest RI: 37.7%	34.7%Highest RI: 37.7%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	6.1%±1.6Highest RI: 8.3%	4.2%±1.7Lowest RI: 8.3%
	Johnston and Scituate are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$91,866±$6kLowest 5% above RI	$112,315±$23kHighest 28% above RI
	Scituate and Johnston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$355,500±$13kLowest 12% below RI	$449,300±$26kHighest 11% above RI
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,275±$132Lowest 5% below RI	$1,489±$251Highest 11% above RI
	Scituate and Johnston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$4,614Lowest 6% below RI	$5,265Highest 7% above RI
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	38.1%±8.7Lowest RI: 48%	59.6%±25.9Highest RI: 48%
	Scituate and Johnston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	7.9%Highest RI: 11.2%	5%Lowest RI: 11.2%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	75.9%Lowest RI: 63.6%	87.3%Highest RI: 63.6%
Typical home builtmedian year	1968Highest 6 yrs newer than RI	1966Lowest 4 yrs newer than RI
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	24 minLowest 7% below RI	31 minHighest 20% above RI
Work from home	9.9%±2.3Lowest RI: 13%	13.3%±5.1Highest RI: 13%
	Scituate and Johnston are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading	#32 of 38 in RI	#17 of 38 in RI
School district	Johnston	Scituate
High school in town	Johnston Senior High	Scituate High School
Students per teacherat that high school	10.3Lowest	10.8Highest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

RI average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.