Newport County, Rhode Island

Newport County is one of five counties located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,643. It is also one of the seven regions of Rhode Island. The county was created in 1703. Like all of the counties in Rhode Island, Newport County no longer has any governmental functions (other than as court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries). All of those functions in Rhode Island are now carried out by the state government, or by the cities and towns of Rhode Island. Newport County is included in the Providence metropolitan area, which in turn constitutes a portion of Greater Boston.

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

left|thumb|Summit of Pocasset Hill, highest point in the county

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (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, 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

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.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Newport County, Rhode Island – Racial composition

!Race (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!% 2010

!% 2000

!Pop 2010

!Pop 2000

|White alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |82.8%

|87.9%

|90.1%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |70,914

|72,836

|76,940

|Black alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.1%

|3.2%

|3.5%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,645

|2,645

|2,988

|American Indian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.3%

|0.3%

|0.4%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |265

|260

|310

|Asian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.8%

|1.5%

|1.2%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,543

|1,263

|1,033

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.1%

|0.1%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |49

|45

|47

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.7%

|0.3%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |599

|274

|243

|Multiracial (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.7%

|2.5%

|1.7%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,036

|2,053

|1,463

|Hispanic/Latino (any race)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.5%

|4.2%

|2.8%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,592

|3,512

|2,409

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%. The population density was . There were 41,796 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.2% white, 3.5% black or African American, 1.6% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.4% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.2% of the population.

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.

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 . There were 39,561 housing units at an average density of . 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

thumb|200px|right|Map of Newport County, Rhode Island showing cities, towns, and CDPs

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

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Gubernatorial elections results

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third parties

| style="text-align:center;" |2022

| style="text-align:center;" |35.2% 11,397

| style="text-align:center;" |61.6% 19,964

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|3.2% 1,037

| style="text-align:center;" |2018

| style="text-align:center;" |30.8% 10,346

| style="text-align:center;" |59.6% 20,014

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|9.6% 3,211

| style="text-align:center;" |2014

| style="text-align:center;" |34.35% 10,122

| style="text-align:center;" |43.74% 12,888

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|21.91% 6,458

| style="text-align:center;" |2010

| style="text-align:center;" |39.45% 11,885

| style="text-align:center;" |17.15% 5,165

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|43.4% 13,074

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

External links

Newport County Chamber of Commerce