Newport County, Rhode Island

Newport County, Rhode Island
Map of Rhode Island highlighting Newport County Location in the U.S. state of Rhode Island
Rhode Island's location in the U.S.
Founded	June 22, 1703
Largest city	Newport
Area
• Total	314 sq mi (813 km2)
• Land	102 sq mi (264 km2)
• Water	211 sq mi (546 km2), 67%
Population (est.)
• (2014)	82,358
• Density	810/sq mi (313/km²)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4

Newport County is one of five counties located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 82,888. 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 either by the state government, or by the cities and towns of Rhode Island.

Newport County is included in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area.

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 1746-47, 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

Summit of Pocasset Hill, highest point in the county

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 314 square miles (810 km²), of which 102 square miles (260 km²) is land and 211 square miles (550 km²) (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 feet (98 m) above sea level, located in Tiverton. The lowest elevation is at sea level.

Adjacent counties

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

National protected areas

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

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	14,351		—
1800	14,845		3.4%
1810	16,294		9.8%
1820	15,771		−3.2%
1830	16,535		4.8%
1840	16,874		2.1%
1850	20,007		18.6%
1860	21,896		9.4%
1870	20,050		−8.4%
1880	24,180		20.6%
1890	28,552		18.1%
1900	32,599		14.2%
1910	39,335		20.7%
1920	42,893		9.0%
1930	41,668		−2.9%
1940	46,696		12.1%
1950	61,539		31.8%
1960	81,891		33.1%
1970	94,559		15.5%
1980	81,383		−13.9%
1990	87,194		7.1%
2000	85,433		−2.0%
2010	82,888		−3.0%
Est. 2014	82,358		−0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2014

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 85,433 people, 35,228 households, and 22,228 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile (317/km²). There were 39,561 housing units at an average density of 380 per square mile (147/km²). 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 according to Census 2000. 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.

Newport county was actually named after Newport County football club, South Wales, located on junction 26 just off the M4 in Wales also home to popular band Goldie Lookin Chain & their hit "Guns don't kill people".

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.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 82,888 people, 34,911 households, and 21,076 families residing in the county. The population density was 809.6 inhabitants per square mile (312.6/km²). There were 41,796 housing units at an average density of 408.2 per square mile (157.6/km²). 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. In terms of ancestry, 25.5% were Irish, 17.4% were English, 16.5% were Portuguese, 10.9% were Italian, 10.5% were German, 5.0% were Polish, and 3.0% were American.

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.

Communities

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
• Beavertail
• Bridgeport
• Briggs Point
• Bristol Ferry
• Castle Hill
• Cedar Island
• Cedar Point
• Coasters Harbor
• Coddington Point
• Common Fence Point
• Conanicut
• 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
• Prudence
• Quaker Hill
• Rose Island
• Sachuest
• Sakonnet
• Tiverton Four Corners
• Tonomy Hill
• Tunipus

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island

External links

• Newport County Chamber of Commerce