Newport County is one of five

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. 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-

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, RI- MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is in turn constitutes a portion of the greater 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 Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. 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 , of which is land and (67%) is water. The county consists of

Aquidneck Island Aquidneck Island ( ), officially known as Rhode Island, is an island in Narragansett Bay in the state of Rhode Island. The total land area is , which makes it the largest island in the bay. The 2020 United States Census reported its population as ...

Conanicut Island Conanicut Island ( ) is an island in Narragansett Bay in the American state of Rhode Island. The second-largest in the Bay, it is connected on the east to Newport, Rhode Island, Newport on Aquidneck Island by the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, ...

, 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 Bristol County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 579,200. The shire town is Taunton. Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, othe ...

- east * Kent County - northwest * Washington County - west

National protected areas

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

Major highways

* * * * * * * * *

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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 White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.73%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.43% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.09% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 2.82% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $26,779. About 5.40% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, 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 living in the county. 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. The largest ancestry groups were: * 25.5% Irish * 17.4% English * 16.5% Portuguese * 10.9% Italian * 10.5% German * 9.4% French * 5.0% Polish * 3.9% French Canadian * 3.3% Scottish * 3.0% American * 2.1% Scotch-Irish * 1.8% Swedish * 1.6% Puerto Rican * 1.4% Russian * 1.1% Dutch * 1.0% Greek *1.0% Sub-Saharan African 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

, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Newport

Towns

* Jamestown * Little Compton * Middletown *

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

* 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:
Text list
/ref> 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
{{Authority control Rhode Island counties 1703 establishments in Rhode Island Populated places established in 1703 Counties in Greater Boston Providence metropolitan area