Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Barbados instead of Rhode Island, you would:

Health

be 24.7% more likely to be obese

In Rhode Island, 31.6% of adults are obese as of 2022. In Barbados, that number is 39.4% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 48.2% more likely to be unemployed

In Rhode Island, 4.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Barbados, that number is 6.5% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 50.2% less money

Rhode Island has a GDP per capita of $56,938 as of 2024, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $28,365 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 22.5% less likely to have internet access

In Rhode Island, approximately 90.8% of the population has internet access as of 2023. In Barbados, about 70.4% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Sources: World Bank (2024–2025), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), World Health Organization (2024), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023). How we calculate this

Compare further: Rhode Island vs. Barbados

Cost of Living Comparison · 6 categories - 2026 data
Barbados is 15.9% cheaper than Rhode Island
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Rhode Island is about 6 times bigger than Barbados.
→
Moving from Rhode Island to Barbados · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→

Barbados: At a glance

Barbados is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 430 sq km. The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. African slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.
Read more

How big is Barbados compared to Rhode Island? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Barbados or United States. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.