Newport County, Rhode Island

History

Newport County was constituted on June 22, 1703, as one of the two original counties of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. As originally established, Newport County consisted of four towns: Portsmouth, Newport, Jamestown, and New Shoreham. In 1746–1747, two towns, Little Compton and Tiverton, were acquired from Massachusetts. In 1856, the town of Fall River was split off from Tiverton but was ceded to Massachusetts six years later in 1862 as part of the settlement of the boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In 1963, the town of New Shoreham was transferred to Washington County. County government was abolished in Rhode Island in 1842 and today remains only for the purpose of delineating judicial administrative boundaries.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 314 sqmi, of which 102 sqmi is land and 211 sqmi (67%) is water.

The county consists of Aquidneck Island, Conanicut Island, Prudence Island, and the easternmost portion of the state on the mainland. The highest point in the county is Pocasset Hill, 320 ft above sea level, located in Tiverton. The lowest elevation is at sea level.

Adjacent counties

• Bristol County - north
• Bristol County, Massachusetts - east
• Kent County - northwest
• Washington County - west

National protected areas

• Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge
• Touro Synagogue National Historic Site

Major highways

Demographics

1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2019 | align-fn = center

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 85,643. Of the residents, 17.2% were under the age of 18 and 22.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 45.5 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.9 males. 91.5% of residents lived in urban areas and 8.5% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 84.1% White, 3.3% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% Asian, 3.0% from some other race, and 7.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.5% of the population.

The most reported ancestries in 2020 were Irish (26%), English (20.3%), Portuguese (12.4%), Italian (10.8%), German (10.8%), French (8.2%), Scottish (4.5%), Polish (3.8%), African American (2.4%), and Puerto Rican (2%).

There were 36,480 households in the county, of which 23.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 29.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 43,422 housing units, of which 16.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 63.0% were owner-occupied and 37.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.4%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 82,888 people, 34,911 households, and 21,076 families living in the county.{{cite web |access-date=January 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213025017/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US44005 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213184400/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY07/0500000US44005 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

• Ireland 25.5% Irish
• England 17.4% English
• Portugal 16.5% Portuguese
• Italy 10.9% Italian
• Germany 10.5% German
• France 9.4% French
• Poland 5.0% Polish
• Canada 3.9% French Canadian
• Scotland 3.3% Scottish
• United States 3.0% American
• Northern Ireland 2.1% Scotch-Irish
• Sweden 1.8% Swedish
• Puerto Rico 1.6% Puerto Rican
• Russia 1.4% Russian
• Netherlands 1.1% Dutch
• Greece 1.0% Greek
• 1.0% Sub-Saharan African

|access-date=January 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213011133/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US44005 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

Of the 34,911 households, 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.6% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 43.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $67,239 and the median income for a family was $82,477. Males had a median income of $58,191 versus $43,623 for females. The per capita income for the county was $36,994. About 4.5% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.{{cite web |access-date=January 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213032836/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US44005 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 85,433 people, 35,228 households, and 22,228 families living in the county. The population density was 821 PD/sqmi. There were 39,561 housing units at an average density of 380 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 91.46% White, 3.73% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.09% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 2.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.6% were of Irish, 13.2% Portuguese, 11.8% English, 9.2% Italian, 6.3% German and 5.2% French ancestry. 92.0% spoke English, 2.3% Spanish, 2.1% Portuguese and 1.3% French as their first language.

There were 35,228 households, out of which 28.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.90% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.90% were non-families. 29.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.50% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,448, and the median income for a family was $60,610. Males had a median income of $41,630 versus $29,241 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,779. About 5.40% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.00% of those under age 18 and 6.70% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Newport

Towns

• Jamestown
• Little Compton
• Middletown
• Portsmouth
• Tiverton

Census-designated places

• Melville
• Newport East
• Tiverton

Villages

Villages have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.

• Adamsville
• Bridgeport
• Briggs Point
• Bristol Ferry
• Castle Hill
• Cedar Island
• Cedar Point
• Coasters Harbor
• Coddington Point
• Common Fence Point
• Corey Lane
• Despair Island
• Dutch Island
• Dyer Island
• Eagleville
• Easton Point
• Fogland Point
• Fort Adams
• Forty Steps
• Freebody Hill
• Goat Island
• Gould Island
• Grayville
• Green's End
• Hog Island
• Homestead
• Hope Island
• Hummocks
• Island Park
• Nannaquaket
• North Tiverton
• Ochre Point
• Patience Island
• Prudence Island
• Quaker Hill
• Rose Island
• Sachuest
• Sakonnet
• Tiverton Four Corners
• Tonomy Hill
• Tunipus

Politics

Education

School districts include:

K-12:

• Middletown Public Schools
• Newport Public Schools
• Portsmouth School District
• Tiverton School District

; Elementary school:

• Jamestown School District
• Little Compton School District

References

References

1. "Pocasset Hill, Rhode Island".
2. Sea level at the Atlantic Ocean.
3. "Gross Domestic Product: All Industries in Newport County, RI".
4. "Census - Geography Profile: Newport County, Rhode Island". [[United States Census Bureau]].
5. (2009). "Rhode Island: Individual County Chronologies". The Newberry Library.
6. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
9. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
10. (April 2, 2001). "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
11. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
12. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau.
13. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau.
14. "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE (2020)". U.S. Census Bureau.
15. "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE (2010)". U.S. Census Bureau.
16. "Rhode Island: 2000". U.S. Census Bureau.
17. "Detailed Races and Ethnicities in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census". U.S. Census Bureau.
18. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau.
19. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
20. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
21. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections – Sate Data".
22. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections – Sate Data".
23. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections – Sate Data".
24. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Newport County, RI". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].