A Block Island Sound resort town with a long history
Westerly’s history is multifaceted. It was once a shipbuilding center, where gunboats for the War of 1812 were built. It was also a mining town, the source of much of the granite used to carve Civil War monuments across the country. And before the English settled it in the 1660s, Westerly was home to Niantic Native Americans. They called the area “Misquamicut,” which translates to “red fish,” after Atlantic salmon found in the Pawcatuck. The Westerly of today, on the Rhode Island side of the Connecticut border, is a small town with a coastal resort-style atmosphere on the Block Island Sound. A little more than 23,000 people live here, but the population grows in the summer. Realtor Elizabeth Warner of Re/Max South County, a Westerly local, says the appeal for full-time and summer residents alike is simple: “Our taxes are low, and we have beautiful beaches.”
Westerly, Rhode Island, is home to approximately 20,000 residents.
Waterfront homes line the southern coast of Westerly, with many bordering inland ponds.
Walk through downtown Westerly to experience nightlife and retail of the area.
Westerly celebrates the end of summer and beginnings of fall.
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Cape Cods and saltbox houses on the coast
The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reports that in August 2024, the median price for single-family homes in Westerly was $916,875. That’s a nearly 70% increase from 2023, when the median was $552,500. The median price for condos in Westerly hovers around $385,000. Inland ranch-style homes and Cape Cod cottages tend to be on the lower end of the price range, while large Colonial Revivals and saltbox-style beach houses with private waterfronts sit on the upper end of the spectrum. On average, homes stay on the market for slightly less than 50 days before going under contract. Warner says inventory is tight due to an influx of house hunters from surrounding states such as New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. “We have a lot of cash buyers because many people here are buying second homes.” One such buyer? American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who has a home in the historic Watch Hill neighborhood. Known locally as the Harkness House, the Gilded Age mansion sold for more than $17 million when Swift bought it in 2013. It’s considered the most expensive private residence in the state.
Victorian style homes offer a contemporary view on some of the traditional colonial style homes.
Homes in every price range are found along the rocky shores of Westerly's beaches.
Contemporary colonial style homes are a common house type in Westerly.
Colonial style homes in Westerly are among the popular, with traditional New England flavor.
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Block Island Sound beaches, a century-old amusement park and more
Sandy sound-front beaches line the town’s coastline. Westerly Town Beach is private to residents, but the beach at Dunes Park is open to the public. The private Weekapaug Yacht Club hosts weekly races and offers youth sailing clinics. Atlantic Beach Park, an amusement park owned and operated by the Trefes family since 1921, is just west of the yacht club and Dunes Park. It’s home to an early-20th-century Herschell-Spillman Carousel and an arcade. The carousel is the oldest one still operational in the United States. A short walk down the water, there’s Misquamicut State Beach, a public beach with a playground and concessions. The Misquamicut Drive-In Theater, down the beach, is open May through October. Weekapaug Golf Club and Winnapaug Country Club feature golf courses overlooking Winnapaug Pond, just north. Weekapaug is a private, member-owned club while Winnapaug is a public club that offers memberships. The Westerly Land Trust, established in 1987, maintains nature preserves with multiuse trails and historic properties throughout town.
Fish off the shores of Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly.
Wilcox Park offers dog and family friendly walking trails through a pond and green space area.
Weekapaug Golf Club is a world ranked 9 hole course with water views on almost every hole.
Hundreds gather on Westerly Town Beach to hear great live music at Tunes on the Dunes.
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Historic downtown Westerly is the community’s cultural center
Westerly’s historic downtown is the heart of its restaurant and boutique retail scene, filled with antique stores, artisanal food markets, taphouses and more. Several of the eateries on Main Street offer outdoor seating with views of the Pawcatuck River. Every summer, the Pawcatuck is lit up with floating fire pits for River Glow, a small-scale version of Providence’s WaterFire event. Downtown Westerly is also home to The United, a 1920s vaudeville theater that now screens arthouse films and new-release blockbusters. On the other side of Wilcox Park, the Granite Theatre is a small playhouse offering performing arts classes. The Colonial Theatre of Rhode Island occupies another corner of Wilcox Park, where the professional theatre company hosts the annual Shakespeare in the Park festival. South of downtown, several shopping centers with national chain retailers, like Stop & Shop, Home Depot and Walmart, are spaced along U.S. Route 1.
The Amtrak station in Westerly, makes it easy to travel throughout the country.
Interstate travel is a short drive away, driving or walking over Broad St. into Connecticut.
Catch a movie at the United Theater in downtown Westerly.
Ritacco's Market and Deli in Westerly offers iconic sandwiches and "grinders".
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Westerly elementary schools under construction
The Westerly Public Schools system earns a B from Niche. The five schools in the district serve more than 2,200 students with an average student-teacher ratio of 11 to 1. B-graded Westerly High School landed on the 2023 AP Honor Roll, a list of roughly 4,500 U.S. schools recognized for their Advanced Placement programs. In addition to more than 20 AP courses, Westerly High offers classes in subjects ranging from accounting to web page design. The district held a groundbreaking ceremony in August 2023 to mark the start of construction on a new State Street Elementary School building and upcoming renovations to the existing Dunn’s Corner and Springbrook elementaries. State Street’s new building is expected to open for students in 2026; the upgrades to Dunn’s Corner and Springbrook are scheduled to be completed in 2025. Private schools in nearby Connecticut include St. Michael School and Pine Point School. Unrated by Niche, St. Michael is a co-ed, Catholic school for kids between preschool and eighth grade. A-graded Pine Point School is a co-ed, nonparochial school for preschool through ninth grade.
Westerly Middle School has 740 students in grades 5-8 with a student-teacher ratio of 11 to 1.
State Street School in Westerly has 246 students with a student-teacher ratio of 11:1.
Westerly High School in Westerly has 726 students with a student-teacher ratio of 10 to 1.
Westerly Middle School is an above average, public school located in Westerly.
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Interstate 95 connects to Providence and Connecticut
Cross the state line from Connecticut into Rhode Island, and the mill rate drops, which means homeowners pay lower property taxes. The tradeoff is that homes in Connecticut are less expensive, but many residents still choose to live on the Rhode Island side of the border in Westerly and commute to Connecticut for work. Warner: “It comes down to: Would you rather spend less on a house, but more on taxes, or more on a house and less on taxes? People typically have the mindset that their payments should go to the principal of the mortgage, instead of taxes.” One of the largest local employers is the Pfizer research site in Groton, Connecticut, about 16 miles west. The drive takes about 20 minutes with no traffic via Interstate 95, which runs past the north side of Westerly. Providence, the Rhode Island state capital and a regional employment hub, is about 44 miles, or a 50-minute drive northeast on I-95. Amtrak’s Northeast Regional line offers train service from Westerly to Providence, too. The ride typically takes about 35 minutes. The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority also provides bus service, with four stops clustered in downtown. Westerly Hospital, one of the largest private-sector employers in the state, is about a mile south of downtown. It’s near Westerly State Airport, which provides flight training and an 8-passenger commuter flight to Block Island State Airport. Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport is in Warwick, about 37 miles northeast of Westerly.
Increasing crime rates and snow at the beach
According to the FBI, 175 violent crimes were committed in Westerly in 2023, an increase from 169 in 2022. FBI data also reflects an increase in property crimes during the same period, from 209 in 2022 to 253 in 2023.
In neighborhoods close to the water, there is some risk of flooding during higher-than-normal tides, or King Tides, and storm surges. However, most standing water impacts roads and parking areas rather than residences. Like most New England states, Rhode Island experiences four seasons, with cold winters and warm summers. While winters can be snowy, it’s rare for Westerly to accumulate more than a foot at a time.
Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
