Newport County, Rhode Island

The courthouse in Newport.

**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 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. In 1856, the town of Fall Riverwas 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 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.

## Demographics

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.

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

### Towns

* Jamestown
* Little Compton
* Middletown
* Portsmouth
* Tiverton

### Census-Designated Places

* Melville
* Newport East
* Tiverton

### Villages

* 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
* Wightmans Corner

### National Protected Areas

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