Newport County, Rhode Island

Newport County is a county in Rhode Island, United States, about 33 miles south of Providence.
It had a population of 85,643 at the 2020 census, an estimated 83,468 by 2025, and covers 102
square miles (260 km2) of land centred near 41°31′N 71°16′W. Water — mostly Narragansett
Bay — adds another 211 square miles, giving the county a total footprint that is two-thirds
sea.

Newport is the county seat; its postal code is 02840. The county holds 1 city and 5 towns, no
unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 44005. Like every county
in Rhode Island, Newport County has no county government of its own — police, schools,
zoning and public works are all run town by town, and the county line survives mainly as a court
and sheriff’s-district boundary.

Towns & Villages in Newport County

Newport County has 6 named places on record: 1 city and 5 towns, every one of them incorporated.
Rhode Island has no unincorporated territory — each of the state’s 39 municipalities is
a full local government, and every acre of the county sits inside one of the six below.

Several of the six towns also carry well-known village names that show up on maps and mail but
are not separate municipalities. Adamsville, a crossroads village that straddles the Little
Compton–Westport, Massachusetts line, keeps its own historic center and a landmark water
tower locally called the Spite Tower. Sachuest, the easternmost neighborhood of Middletown, gives
its name to Second Beach, Third Beach and the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge. Tiverton’s
southern village core is itself a separate census-designated place — Tiverton CDP, population
7,809 in 2020 — distinct from the town of Tiverton’s countywide total above.

ZIP Codes

• 02840 — Newport (the county seat’s main code)
• 02841 — Naval Station Newport, a separate military ZIP inside Newport and Middletown
• 02871 — Portsmouth
• 02842 — Middletown
• 02878 — Tiverton
• 02835 — Jamestown
• 02837 — Little Compton

Every incorporated place in the county has held its own ZIP code since the modern postal system
was set up in the 1960s; there are no unincorporated communities left without one.

Geography

Newport County is built on water almost as much as land. Three of its six towns sit on islands
in Narragansett Bay: Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth share Aquidneck Island, the bay’s
largest, while Jamestown occupies most of Conanicut Island just to the west. Tiverton and Little
Compton form the county’s mainland arm on the eastern shore of the Sakonnet River, across from
Aquidneck. Bridges do the work causeways can’t: the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, the longest
suspension bridge in New England, links Jamestown to Newport; the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge
carries traffic west to North Kingstown and the mainland; and the Sakonnet River Bridge on Route 24
connects Tiverton to Portsmouth.

Bristol County, Rhode Island borders Newport County to the north, and Kent County, Rhode Island
lies to the northwest across the bay. Washington County, Rhode Island sits to the west, also across
open water rather than a land line. Bristol County, Massachusetts adjoins Tiverton and Little
Compton to the east; it has no matching page on this site. Bristol County, Kent County and Washington County are all
linked here.

Demographics

Newport County had a population of 85,643 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 83,468 residents, a slight decline typical of Rhode Island’s older coastal
counties. Newport and Portsmouth are the two largest communities, together holding just over half
the county’s population. Median household income runs $103,514, well above Rhode Island’s
statewide figure of $84,972. Population density works out to about 840 people per square mile of
land, high for a county with no interstate highway, reflecting how tightly built the island towns
are compared with Tiverton and Little Compton’s open farmland.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about
5,459 workers, followed by professional, scientific and technical services at 4,458 and educational
services at 4,361, out of roughly 41,500 people employed countywide. Naval Station Newport, home to
the Naval War College and several other Navy commands, is the single largest employer on Aquidneck
Island and anchors Middletown’s economy as much as Newport’s. Portsmouth hosts Raytheon
Missiles & Defense, one of the county’s largest private employers, along with the
headquarters of US Sailing, the sport’s national governing body. Salve Regina University and
tourism — museums, mansions and the waterfront — drive much of Newport’s own
employment. The county’s biggest annual draw is the Newport Jazz Festival each August at Fort
Adams State Park, running alongside the Newport Folk Festival on the same grounds.

History

Newport County was organized on 22 June 1703 as one of Rhode Island’s two original
counties, alongside Providence County, and takes its name from the town of Newport. Portsmouth,
settled 7 March 1638 by dissenters including Anne Hutchinson, William Coddington and Dr. John
Clarke after they were banished from Massachusetts Bay, is Rhode Island’s second-oldest
municipality after Providence. Coddington and Clarke broke away the following year to found
Newport in 1639.

Newport grew into a major colonial seaport and, later, a Gilded Age retreat for wealthy families
who built lavish summer “cottages” along Bellevue Avenue between roughly 1870 and 1915,
including The Breakers, Marble House, Chateau-sur-Mer and Rosecliff. Touro Synagogue, dedicated in
1763, is the oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States and home to the country’s
second-oldest Jewish congregation. Newport hosted the America’s Cup sailing races from 1930 to
1983 before the event moved overseas.

Getting There

No interstate highway crosses Newport County. Routes 24, 77, 81, 114, 138, 138A, 179, 214 and 238
carry most of the through traffic, along with the bridges described above.

• Providence — about 33 miles northwest
• Fall River, Massachusetts — about 12 miles northeast
• Warwick — about 28 miles west
• New Bedford, Massachusetts — about 20 miles east

Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport, in Warwick about 28 miles from Newport, is the
nearest major commercial airport. Newport State Airport in Middletown handles general aviation
only. No Amtrak train stops in the county; the closest station is Providence, roughly 30 miles
northwest of Newport by road.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Newport County located?
It sits at the mouth of Narragansett Bay in southeastern Rhode Island, about 33 miles south of
Providence, split across Aquidneck Island, Conanicut Island and the eastern mainland shore.

What is the population of Newport County?
85,643 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 83,468.

How big is Newport County?
102 square miles (260 km2) of land plus 211 square miles of water, for a total of 314 square
miles that is roughly two-thirds bay and ocean.

What is the county seat of Newport County?
Newport, settled in 1639, is the county seat and largest city.

How many towns and cities are in Newport County?
Six incorporated places in all: the city of Newport and the towns of Portsmouth, Middletown,
Tiverton, Jamestown and Little Compton. There is no unincorporated territory.

What ZIP codes does Newport County use?
02840 and 02841 for Newport, 02871 for Portsmouth, 02842 for Middletown, 02878 for Tiverton,
02835 for Jamestown and 02837 for Little Compton.

Does Newport County have a county government?
No. Like all five Rhode Island counties, Newport County has no county government; each town and
the city of Newport run their own police, schools and public works, and the county line mainly
marks a court and sheriff’s-district boundary.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Rhode Island.