Rhode Island Ranked Absolute Worst State for a Summer Road Trip

Call me biased, but Rhode Island is one of the most beautiful states in the country. It has a perfect blend of city life and seaside living with art, culture, and entertainment sprinkled from coast to coast.

And the food? Top-notch.

But the state’s one downfall is the amount of coin it takes to truly enjoy everything that Rhode Island has to offer.

When it comes to scientific numbers, Rhode Island was at the bottom of the barrel for a summer road trip destination. According to WalletHub, Rhode Island is the all-time worst road-trip destination, and after seeing the numbers, it’s hard to argue.

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How WalletHub Collected the Data

WalletHub compared the 50 states based on 32 key metrics across three key dimensions: Costs, Safety, and Activities.

“Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for summer road trips,” said the WalletHub team. “We then determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting score to rank-order our sample.”

WalletHub Ranks Rhode Island the Worst

Rhode Island’s overall score was 37.97, putting it at number 50 of 50 on the “destination” chart.

WalletHub’s findings showed Rhode Island is pretty pricey when it came to camping sights and was way down on the list for scenic byways.

If you’re wondering where Massachusetts falls, it's right behind Rhode Island at rank number 44, with a high chance of car thefts and an overall poor rating on safety.

If you take into consideration these findings, it looks like Texas is the ideal road-trip destination, with an overall rating of 60.33.

Here's Why You Should Consider Rhode Island, Anyway

Rhode Island may not have rolling hills and sturdy roadways, but where it lacks in costs, it makes up for it with unique activities, incredible food both cheap and fine dining, and breathtaking seaside views that Texas can't hold a candle to.

So, in reality, it's all personal opinion. Is Rhode Island expensive? Yes. But is it money well spent? I'd like to think so.

See the Stars Who Own Homes in Rhode Island

There are plenty of celebrities who once called Rhode Island home, but how many still do? Here's the list of stars who own homes across the Ocean State.

Other Foods Rhode Island Could Market Themselves With

Rhode Island plans to use its signature stuffie in a new $4.5 million marketing campaign this summer. Huge stuffed quahogs will be displayed in airports across the country, but are there other foods the state could use?

We make a few suggestions of Rhode Island's other famous fare.