PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island was among three states in the nation where new housing construction was the slowest last year, newly released data from the US Census Bureau shows.

Among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Ocean State, with a 0.2 percent increase in housing units year over year, ranked 49th, behind only Illinois, also with 0.2 percent, and Hawaii at 0.1 percent, according to the data.

The numbers are a far cry from the state with the fastest growth, Idaho, with an increase of 2.2 percent. Utah followed at 2 percent and North Carolina at 1.9 percent.

Elsewhere in New England, Massachusetts, which ranked 43rd, a 0.4 percent year-over-year increase in housing units; Connecticut ranked 41st, with 0.5 percent; New Hampshire ranked 30th, with 0.6 percent; Vermont ranked 27th, with 0.7 percent; and Maine ranked 22nd, with 0.8 percent.

For Rhode Island, the bureau estimated there was an increase of only 922 housing units across in 2024, bringing the total number of units to 488,030.

In its annual report last month, the state Department of Housing said there were 485,533 total housing units in Rhode Island last year.

In an email to the Globe on Friday, Nick Freeman, the department’s interim chief of staff, wrote the agency is currently reviewing the Census data.

“In general, the data underscores the findings of our Housing 2030 plan and demonstrates why the plan establishes production goals, strengthens incentives for municipalities, addresses zoning and regulatory barriers, and calls for strategic investments to produce and preserve housing in Rhode Island,” Freeman wrote.

Last month, Governor Dan McKee laid out a new goal to add 15,000 new homes by 2030 – nearly double the number of units the state permitted between 2019 and 2023. Advocates and researchers have said, however, an additional 24,000 units are needed to close the state’s persistent affordability gap.

Freeman wrote the Department of Housing is optimistic the state will “make meaningful progress as new housing units come online in the coming years.”

“Rhode Island has seen a significant increase in permitting activity in recent years – reaching pre-Great Recession levels for [the] first time in 2023 and maintaining that progress in 2024,” Freeman wrote. “This is a direct result of the State’s recent financial investments and regulatory reforms.”

In the past four years, the General Assembly has passed nearly 50 new housing laws, aiming to lower barriers for development.

In a statement, Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said there are a dozen more measures moving through the legislative process now.

But, prior to recently signed laws, the last “substantive land use legislation” the state saw was decades ago in the 1990s, Shekarchi said.

Since then, many communities have become more restrictive around housing they will permit, he said. Addressing the housing crisis will take years, Shekarchi said.

“The new Census data is sobering, but not surprising,” he said. “Rhode Island was dead last in the country for new housing starts for multiple years consecutively, and this data is reflective of that.”

The state is making progress though, he said, pointing to the 70 percent increase in building permits issued in 2023.

“The data is stark, but shows why doing nothing is not an option,” Shekarchi said.

Christopher Gavin can be reached at christopher.gavin@globe.com.

The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at May 15, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from May 15 drawing

07-16-17-20-23, Lucky Ball: 04

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from May 15 drawing

Midday: 2-7-5-9

Evening: 4-6-3-8

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from May 15 drawing

05-08-15-16-22, Extra: 17

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

• Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
• Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
• Winners of the Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

• Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
• Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
• Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
• Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
• Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
• Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form. Our News Automation and AI team would love to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us.

• Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike was unable to determine how Brain Cipher stole the credentials of a Deloitte employee
• Around 115,000 people whose data was believed to be stolen last year, and received state warning letters were probably not exposed, but 107,000 weren’t warned may have had data stolen
• Attorney General Peter Neronha is investigating whether the state will sue Deloitte

Hackers infiltrated Rhode Island’s public benefits portal in early July 2024, five months before the state was alerted about the attack and eventually shut the system down, according to findings from an investigation of the breach.

The hack resulted in the personal data of 644,000 Rhode Islanders being posted on the dark web, slightly fewer than the 650,000 initially estimated to be affected.

How did hackers get into the RIBridges system?

The group Brain Cipher gained access to the RIBridges computer network on July 2 of 2024 by getting the credentials of an employee of Deloitte, the contractor that runs the system for the state, the report from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike said.

Crowdstrike was not able to determine how Brain Cipher got the Deloitte employee’s credentials.

Once inside the RIBridges system, the hackers worked undetected by Deloitte until early December, when the hackers contacted the information technology vendor and threatened to release personal information downloaded from the system.

Between November 11 and Nov. 28 of last year, Brain Cipher transferred large amounts of data from the RI Bridges system. After the hackers contacted Deloitte, the vendor told state officials about the hack on Dec. 4 and the system was shut down on Dec. 13.

RI in the early states of replacing, possibly suing, Deloitte

Gov. Dan McKee told reporters Thursday that Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office is now looking into a possible state lawsuit against Deloitte for failure to adequately protect resident data.

“Well, obviously we’re not pleased by it and we’re acting accordingly,” McKee said at a State House news conference. “That’s why the attorney general is looking into the implications there. I can say that under the circumstances … that this would be undetected for that period of time is something that is just unacceptable.”

The state is in the early stages of seeking proposals from vendors to replace Deloitte and the system, also known as the Unified Health Infrastructure Project, that has had numerous problems since it launched in 2016.

People who thought they were in the clear may have had their data stolen

The composition of the people whose data was stolen has also changed from last December when the system was shut down.

Around 115,000 people whose data was believed to be stolen last year, and received state warning letters, were probably in the clear, state Chief Digital Officer Brian Tardiff said.

On the flip side, 107,000 people whose data was not previously suspected of being stolen may have actually had their data stolen and will now receive a new round of warning letters.

Those newly discovered vulnerabilities include people who had were hired to new jobs and had their employment status verified by the Department of Labor and Training. A handful of people whose information was contained in child support database and whose filed passed through the Department of Children Youth and Families were also compromised.

Those who have data is exposed in the hack are eligible for free credit monitoring.

Tardiff said the state has not paid any ransom connected to the attack.