Why Us / Demographics

Rhode Island's Official Name

State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

Area

1,214 square miles

Population

1,076,164 - State (10.4 million within 100 miles)

Economy

Fueled by three powerful industries: Health Services, Tourism and Manufacturing

Accessibility

Providence is bisected by Interstate 95 and 195, conveniently located 183 miles from New York City and 45 miles from Boston.

Rhode Island's T.F. Green Airport (PVD) provides easy access to the entire state: a 15-minute drive from downtown Providence, and 25 minutes from Newport. By train, Providence is located on Amtrak's high speed "Acela Express" service between Washington, D.C. and Boston, Northeast Corridor main line, with direct MBTA commuter rail service also available to Metro Boston. For the bus traveler, both Bonanza and Greyhound Bus Lines provide service to the area.

Educational Institutions

Brown University, Bryant College, Community College of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University, New England Institute of Technology, Providence College, Rhode Island College, Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams University, Salve Regina University, University of Rhode Island

Recreation

Nicknamed The Ocean State, with over 400 miles of coastline and over 100 beaches, Rhode Island offers many recreational opportunities from sailing, boating, swimming, fishing and beach-going. Camping and other outdoor recreational activities are available in over 2,300 acres of beautiful parks on six islands. Additionally, Rhode Island has more than 20% of the entire nation's registered historical landmarks.

Population

The population count for The City of Providence as of April 1, 2000, was 173,618. This represented a 8.02% increase (12,890 persons) from the 1990 population of 160,728.

Rank

In 2000 Providence ranks First in population among Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns.

Median Age

In 2000 the median age of the population in Providence was 28.1.

Age Distribution

In 2000, 73.9% or 128,341 persons residing in Providence were 18 years of age or older. 111,493 were 21 and over, 20,829 were 62 and over, and 18,155 were 65 and over.

Population Density

The 2000 population density of Providence is 9,402 persons per square mile of land area. Providence contains 18.47 square miles of land area (47,828,598 Sq. meters) (11,818.80 acres) and 2.06 square miles of water area (5,347,070 square meters) (11,818.80 acres).

Housing Units

The total number of housing units in the The City of Providence as of April 1, 2000, was 67,915. This represented an increase of 1,121 units from the 66,794 housing units in 1990. Of the 67,915 housing units 5,526 were vacant. 343 of the vacant units were for seasonal or recreational use.

Households

In 2000, there are 62,389 households in Providence with an average size of 2.56 persons. Of these, 35,859 were family households with an average family size of 3.33 persons.

Race

Caucasian:94,666
African American: 25,243
American Indian and Alaska Native: 1,975
Asian: 10,432
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 270

Other: 30,477 Hispanic or Latino: In 2000, 52,146 persons of Hispanic origin resided in Providence. This represented 30.0% of the population. An increase of 27,164 or 108.7% from the 1980 Hispanic population of 24,982.