{"id":103989,"date":"2025-09-15T11:53:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T11:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=103989"},"modified":"2025-12-02T14:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T14:31:14","slug":"poll-93-of-rhode-islanders-agree-housing-costs-are-a-problem-remain-divided-on-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/poll-93-of-rhode-islanders-agree-housing-costs-are-a-problem-remain-divided-on-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Poll: 93% of Rhode Islanders agree housing costs are a problem, remain divided on solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I.\u2014SEPT. 15, 2025\u2014A new public opinion poll from researchers at the 溏心vlog免费B站 finds that 93% of Rhode Islanders believe that housing costs are a problem; yet, when it comes to solutions, opinions are divided. The poll is the third from the Rhode Island Survey Initiative<\/a>, led by 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Harrington School of Communication and Media; Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy; and Department of Political Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s opt-in survey panel of Rhode Island residents. The margin of error for the poll is +\/- 6.01%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn addition to core questions, each year the Rhode Island Survey Initiative selects one major theme for in-depth study,\u201d said Ashlea Rundlett, 溏心vlog免费B站 associate professor of political science, who was a member of the research team. \u201cGiven 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\u2019 opinions on the topic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most popular solutions to Rhode Island\u2019s housing crisis were to focus on using what already exists\u2014repairing 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAcross the board, we see comfort with public solutions, particularly when it comes to the state directly increasing housing stock. However, they\u2019re less supportive of changing zoning rules to allow for more housing to be built. In 2025, respondents\u2019 priorities shifted away from housing\u2014 the number one priority of 2024\u2014 to healthcare,\u201d said Rundlett. \u201cWhile the survey didn\u2019t go in-depth into healthcare solutions, respondents were open to a variety of policy approaches to address the primary care shortage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to perceptions on Rhode Island\u2019s 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\u2019s primary care shortage; as well as who they would be most likely to vote for in the Democratic primary for governor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the key findings are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key priorities\/quality of life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014up sharply from 42% in 2024. It was the top priority for Democrats, Republicans and independents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing (51%) and roads\/bridges (41%) continued to rank high in 2025\u2014essentially 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%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satisfaction with quality of life in the Ocean State held steady from last year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, 22% said they believe the state of the Rhode Island economy was somewhat strong or very strong\u2014the same as in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Primary care shortage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addressing the primary-care doctor shortage, 75% of respondents somewhat support or strongly support creating a public medical school at 溏心vlog免费B站 to train more primary care doctors. This was respondents\u2019 most favored approach listed, though all approaches received more than 50% support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic primary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust in government\/politics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notably, 81% of Rhode Islanders stated they believe political violence is somewhat of a problem or a very big problem\u2014the same as last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media usage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhode Islanders\u2019 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\u2019t use social media for news at all, up from 21% in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile there are national polls that also focus on housing, our survey results offer a detailed picture of Rhode Islanders\u2019 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,\u201d said Julie Keller, 溏心vlog免费B站 associate professor of sociology and director of the Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy. \u201cOur third annual survey offers much more than just a glimpse of where Rhode Islanders stand on these issues, and we\u2019re thrilled to be sharing these results with the public.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

溏心vlog免费B站 the survey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rhode Island Survey Initiative was launched in 2023 by a team of researchers from the 溏心vlog免费B站’s Harrington School of Communication and Media; 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Social Science Institute for Research, Education, and Policy; and the 溏心vlog免费B站 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 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keller says the survey initiative reflects the institute\u2019s goal of providing evidence-based insights to communities across Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more, or to view the report in its entirety, visit the Rhode Island Survey Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note about methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Party identification was constructed using the seven-point scale in which self-identified Democrats and independent-leaning Democrats were combined into the \u201cDemocrat\u201d category; self-identified Republicans and independent-leaning Republicans were combined into the \u201cRepublican\u201d category; and independents are in the \u201cIndependent\u201d category.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I.\u2014SEPT. 15, 2025\u2014A new public opinion poll from researchers at the 溏心vlog免费B站 finds that 93% of Rhode Islanders believe that housing costs are a problem; yet, when it comes to solutions, opinions are divided. The poll is the third from the Rhode Island Survey Initiative, led by 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Harrington School of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":103990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12,18,1905],"class_list":["post-103989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-arts-and-sciences","tag-harrington-school-of-communication-and-media","tag-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103991,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103989\/revisions\/103991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}