2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Pawtucket had a population of 75,604, 31,565 households, and 17,202 families. The population density was 8,723.2 per square mile (3,368.0/km), and there were 33,832 housing units at an average density of 3,903.5 per square mile (1,507.2/km). The racial composition as of the census is documented in the table below.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 37,492 || 49.6%

|-

| Black or African American || 9,836 || 13.0%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 475 || 0.6%

|-

| Asian || 1,140 || 1.5%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 57 || 0.1%

|-

| Some other race || 12,429 || 16.4%

|-

| Two or more races || 14,175 || 18.7%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 18,727 || 24.8%

|}

21.8% of residents were under the age of 18, 8.4% were from 18 to 24, 29.4% were from 25 to 44, 26.2% were from 45 to 64, and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.7 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.4 males age 18 and over.

There were 31,565 households in Pawtucket, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.4% were married-couple households, 23.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $52,902 (with a margin of error of +/- $3,574) and the median family income was $66,544 (+/- $2,789). Males had a median income of $39,641 (+/- $1,932) versus $31,646 (+/- $1,286) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $35,243 (+/- $1,022). Approximately 11.4% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.1% of those under the age of 18 and 14.4% of those ages 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census Like nearby cities Providence, Fall River, and New Bedford, Pawtucket hosts a significant population from across the former Portuguese Empire (11.6%), Pawtucket has a high concentration of West Africans.

Economy

thumb|[[Hasbro Headquarters]]

Hasbro, a Fortune 1000 toy and game making company, is headquartered in Pawtucket.

Many healthcare, retail and insurance companies are headquartered in Pawtucket.

Arts and culture

The City of Pawtucket has been supportive of the arts community since 1975. On September 2, 1977, the Beach Boys performed a concert at Narragansett Park. The concert was attended by 40,000 people, making it the largest concert audience in Rhode Island history. In 2017, music historians Al Gomes and Connie Watrous of Big Noise were successful in getting the street where the concert stage stood (the corner of 511 Narragansett Park Drive) officially renamed as "Beach Boys Way".

In January 1999, Herb Weiss, of the Planning Department, was hired to oversee the city's newly created Arts District. Through the support of then Mayor James E. Doyle and Planning Department Michael Cassidy, Weiss brought significant recognition for Pawtucket-Arts oriented development strategy. Mayor Doyle and Weiss hired researcher Ann Galligan, of Northeastern University, to create an arts and cultural plan. Over the years Pawtucket has become a center for arts and culture.

Several experimental/indie rock bands have recorded albums at Machines with Magnets, a recording studio and art gallery in Downtown Pawtucket. Bands that have performed or recorded here include Battles, Lightning Bolt, Brown Bird, and Fang Island.

One hub for arts and culture in the city is Lorraine Mills, a repurposed mill building on the eastern side of the city, which houses institutions including Mixed Magic Theatre, Wage House (comedy club), Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, and Crooked Current Brewery.

thumb|right|Saint Patrick's Day parade

Each September, the city, in conjunction with the Pawtucket Arts Festival Board of Directors, members chosen from the community, produce an annual citywide Arts Festival. The city has hosted an annual Saint Patrick's Day parade since 1982.

Sports

Pawtucket was for many years home to McCoy Stadium, where the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, played from 1970 to 2020. The team was owned by Ben Mondor until his death and was sold by his estate. The longest professional baseball game in history, 33 innings, was played at McCoy Stadium in 1981. Pawtucket has a history of professional baseball dating back to 1892, including the Pawtucket Maroons and Pawtucket Indians. The PawSox franchise was relocated to Worcester, Massachusetts, to become the Worcester Red Sox beginning with the 2021 season. Demolition of McCoy stadium commenced in 2025.

In 2024, Rhode Island FC, of the USL Championship, will have its inaugural season. Starting in 2025, the team will play at a soccer-specific stadium along the Seekonk River. The team is headquartered in Pawtucket.

In 1934, the Narragansett Park opened for Thoroughbred horse racing. Until its closure in 1978, the track hosted several important races that drew some of the top horses from around the United States including Hall of Fame members; Seabiscuit, War Admiral and Gun Bow.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">

File:Apex_Department_Store_Building,_Pawtucket_Rhode_Island.jpg|Apex Companies

File:Pawtucket Armory 2013.jpg|Pawtucket Armory Center for the Arts (former Pawtucket Armory), with The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre in annex

File:McCoy Stadium view of field abandoned 2023.jpg|From 1970 to 2020, the Pawtucket Red Sox played at McCoy Stadium

File:The Stadium at Tidewater Landing, Pawtucket, Rhode Island.jpg|Centreville Bank Stadium under construction in 2025

</gallery>

Parks and recreation

thumb|upright|[[Slater Park|Slater Memorial Park]]

  • Slater Memorial Park has full recreational facilities including tennis courts and picnic areas.
  • Daggett Farm
  • Water Color Gallery open to the public for viewing
  • Daggett House
  • Marconi Garden

Government

Education

Public schools

Public education in Pawtucket is directed by the Pawtucket School Department and contains these schools:

Senior high schools

  • Charles E. Shea
  • William E. Tolman
  • Blackstone Academy Charter School
  • Jacqueline M Walsh School for the Arts

Middle schools

  • Joseph Jenks
  • Samuel Slater
  • Lyman B. Goff

Elementary schools

  • Elizabeth Baldwin
  • M. Virginia Cunningham
  • Flora S. Curtis
  • Curvin McCabe
  • Fallon Memorial
  • Nathanael Greene
  • Agnes E. Little
  • Potter Burns
  • Francis J. Varieur
  • Henry J. Winters

Catholic schools

The Quality Hill section of Pawtucket is home to St. Raphael Academy. It is a private college preparatory school founded on the basis of St. John the Baptist de la Salle. "Saints" is a small school consisting of roughly 500 students with a student to teacher ratio of about 15:2. The "Saints and Lady Saints" are very successful in sports including baseball, football, basketball, and softball. St. Raphael Academy is a rival of William E. Tolman. The two schools took part in a Thanksgiving Day football game that was played in McCoy Stadium for over 70 years, though game is no longer played. William E. Tolman now competes annually against its fellow Pawtucket public high school Charles E. Shea, rather than against St. Raphael Academy, a private Catholic high school.

Pawtucket was home to Bishop Keough High School, a small all-girls Catholic high school in the Fairlawn neighborhood, until its closure in 2015.

The city also has three Catholic elementary schools: St. Cecilia School, St. Teresa School and Woodlawn Catholic Regional School.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Pawtucket is served by several RIPTA local bus routes plus the R-Line. Pawtucket/Central Falls station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line opened on January 23, 2023, replacing the former station that closed in 1981.

Highways and roads

I-95 and US 1 also traverse the western part of Pawtucket. Some of the slowest posted speeds on I-95 are in the city due to the "S-curves" near downtown. To preserve certain buildings in the city, planners snaked I-95, creating sharp bends in the highway.

Downtown Circulator

Pawtucket's Downtown Circulator was a one-way loop through downtown; it is similar to British concepts of ring roads. A similar concept was also tried in Providence.

The circulator used East Avenue, High Street, Summer Street, Goff Avenue, Dexter Street and Park Place West. Each half of the Circulator carried one direction of U.S. 1; sections also carried westbound Route 15 and northbound Route 114. It was signed with a big "C" on overhead signs.

There are no longer signs for the circulator, though the road configuration remains. Providence's Downtown Ring Roads have suffered a similar fate.

Notable people

Sister town

  • Belper, Derbyshire, England, Belper was where Samuel Slater had been apprenticed to Jedediah Strutt, learning the secrets of Richard Arkwright's Water Frame. He is sometimes known in that area as "Slater the traitor". Belper holds an annual town festival in honor of Pawtucket and Belper being sister towns.

See also

References

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