All “income based rent” in RI is subsidized by HUD. There are very specific rules about how you are allowed select tenants and you are allowed to deny by credit score (it’s dumb… I’m aware…) however the rent would not be “based” on your credit score as those do not show what you can pay, but that you DO pay your bills.

I believe OP is referring to the practice of requiring applicants demonstrate income equal to a certain multiple of rent to be eligible to rent an apartment.

Try Zillow

Most will use income for good reason. You can often have a conversation about it (ie show you’ve sustained that rent amount previously) or co-sign it if you need to. It’s not ALWAYS a required defined %, but they like to at least see there is an income. My friend has a couple places they manage in DC and they require it just to weed out riff raff.

If there’s multiple applicants, that won’t work. And I’d do the same if I was renting out a unit.

Nope. Trust me I’ve tried this as well. You need to prove you can pay 2-3x whatever the number is for that apartment is so they know they can hike up the rent in a few months and you’ll keep paying.

It's all understandable, but I guess I'm just trying to figure out if it's possible to move to another city and get a decent place without proof of income (and get a job once I'm in the actual city).

Your best bet would probably be Airbnb. There’s plenty of them in PVD you could rent long term. Since you pay up front, they don’t care.