Newport County, RI
County Profile
84,657 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Newport County, RI.
Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 12 sourcesUnemployment is 3.0% and median household income $103,514, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.
Housing sits below most counties measured for affordability: rent takes 30% of renter income and the median home is 4.8 times what its owners earn — each just short of the thresholds that would count as strained, but both toward the costly end.
Rhode Island TF Green Intl is 17 miles away, closer than 79% of measured US counties.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.0%, lower than in 90% of the 1,467 measured US counties.
Employment fell 2.0% over the past year, to 40,611 employed residents.
54% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 98% of measured US counties.
Median household income of $103,514 is higher than in 96% of measured US counties.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023 | $121,973 | 97th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023 | $98,726 | 96th percentileof 1,417 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$4,6842024 ACS 5-Year | $103,514 | Top 4%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,5692024 ACS 5-Year | $61,596 | Top 2%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per-capita personal income2023 | $88,921 | Top 6%of 1,389 | 2023 |
| Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.8% | Top 12%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 24.4 min | Top 40%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 54.1% | Top 2%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 69.8% | 14th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 40,611 | Top 45%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −3.2% | Bottom 15%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −2.0% | Bottom 21%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 41,865 | 55th percentileof 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 85.0% | Top 6%of 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.9% | 85th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.5% | Top 27%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 3.0% | Top 10%of 1,467 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 15.7% | 89th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 21,530 | $33,700 |
| Retail Salespersons | 20,910 | $35,230 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 15,670 | $40,890 |
| Registered Nurses | 15,180 | $99,880 |
| Cashiers | 14,440 | $34,540 |
| General and Operations Managers | 14,110 | $110,360 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
39% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 51% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 11.3 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth High School | Portsmouth | 785 | 11.4 | 56% | 74% |
| Claiborne Pell Elementary | Newport | 657 | 10.9 | 22% | 25% |
| Portsmouth Middle School | Portsmouth | 604 | 11.8 | 43% | 55% |
| Rogers High School | Newport | 599 | 10.3 | 22% | 42% |
| Middletown High School | Middletown | 523 | 10.7 | 37% | 62% |
| Tiverton Middle School | Tiverton | 499 | 12.8 | 38% | 42% |
| Frank E. Thompson Middle | Newport | 499 | 10.4 | 20% | 27% |
| Gaudet Middle School | Middletown | 431 | 11.1 | 35% | 35% |
| Tiverton High School | Tiverton | 430 | 10.0 | 47% | 67% |
| Howard Hathaway School | Portsmouth | 409 | 13.6 | 47% | 57% |
| Melville School | Portsmouth | 316 | 12.2 | 57% | 67% |
| Forest Avenue School | Middletown | 304 | 12.2 | 27% | 32% |
37.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Rhode Island’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 2% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 101.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area is up 52% over five years, and up 4.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $5,414 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.89% of the median home value.
The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,713 a month.
A median home at $609,700 costs 4.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $128,007, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 2% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Newport County’s median household income of $103,514, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 101.5 | Bottom 23%of 887 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +4.7% | 71st percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +51.9% | 78th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +111.8% | 79th percentileof 1,431 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 4.8 | Bottom 5%of 3,217 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 67.9% | 22nd percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±402024 ACS 5-Year | 43,663 | 81st percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median gross rent ±$772024 ACS 5-Year | $1,713 | Bottom 4%of 3,215 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$17,4422024 ACS 5-Year | $609,700 | 98th percentileof 3,219 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1612024 ACS 5-Year | $5,414 | 97th percentileof 3,172 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$5,5792024 ACS 5-Year | $128,007 | Top 4%of 3,218 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.89% | 57th percentileof 3,126 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.9% | Bottom 29%of 3,216 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±5432024 ACS 5-Year | 4,422 | 93rd percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.1% | 81st percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.4% | 20th percentileof 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±6432024 ACS 5-Year | 6,795 | 85th percentileof 3,222 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has fallen 2% since 2020, to 83,468 in 2024.
Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 161 units authorized in 2025, up 71% on the prior year.
Federal tax returns show Newport County lost about 0.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $121,973, above the $98,726 of households that moved out.
At 2.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Bristol County, MA 391 people · 8.4% of arrivals
- Bristol County, RI 188 people · 4.0% of arrivals
- San Diego County, CA 143 people · 3.1% of arrivals
- Middlesex County, MA 106 people · 2.3% of arrivals
- Suffolk County, MA 101 people · 2.2% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Bristol County, MA 470 people · 9.3% of departures
- Bristol County, RI 279 people · 5.5% of departures
- San Diego County, CA 151 people · 3.0% of departures
- Fairfax County, VA 101 people · 2.0% of departures
- Suffolk County, MA 87 people · 1.7% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 80°F and January a low of 24°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 42.2 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 42.2" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 24°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 80°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 41°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and coastal flooding, with inland flooding alone responsible for 63% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 99% of measured US counties.
Low or minimal exposure: earthquake, inland flooding, lightning, drought, strong wind, winter weather, ice storm, cold wave, tornado, wildfire, landslide, hail, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Newport County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 4.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 7.3 per 100,000 residents in Newport County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Newport County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Rhode Island TF Green Intl at 17 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year | 94.1% | Top 5%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 17 mi | Top 21%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 6 | Top 13%of 1,463 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.3% | Top 7%of 3,221 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island TF Green Intl | PVD | 17 mi | 8,700 ft |
| General Edward Lawrence Logan Intl | BOS | 61 mi | 10,083 ft |
| Bradley Intl | BDL | 78 mi | 9,510 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing, Income | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
Cities in Newport County, RI
ZIP areas
Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.