{"id":7345,"date":"2023-08-30T09:37:30","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T09:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7345"},"modified":"2026-08-07T10:25:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:25:05","slug":"newport-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/newport-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Newport County, Rhode Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Newport County is a county in Rhode Island, United States, about 33 miles south of Providence.<br \/>\nIt had a population of 85,643 at the 2020 census, an estimated 83,468 by 2025, and covers 102<br \/>\nsquare miles (260 km2) of land centred near 41\u00b031\u2032N 71\u00b016\u2032W. Water &mdash; mostly Narragansett<br \/>\nBay &mdash; adds another 211 square miles, giving the county a total footprint that is two-thirds<br \/>\nsea.<\/p>\n<p>Newport is the county seat; its postal code is 02840. The county holds 1 city and 5 towns, no<br \/>\nunincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 44005. Like every county<br \/>\nin Rhode Island, Newport County has no county government of its own &mdash; police, schools,<br \/>\nzoning and public works are all run town by town, and the county line survives mainly as a court<br \/>\nand sheriff&#8217;s-district boundary.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Newport County<\/h2>\n<p>Newport County has 6 named places on record: 1 city and 5 towns, every one of them incorporated.<br \/>\nRhode Island has no unincorporated territory &mdash; each of the state&#8217;s 39 municipalities is<br \/>\na full local government, and every acre of the county sits inside one of the six below.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Newport<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>25,163<\/td>\n<td>02840<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Portsmouth<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>17,871<\/td>\n<td>02871<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Middletown<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>17,075<\/td>\n<td>02842<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tiverton<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>16,359<\/td>\n<td>02878<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Jamestown<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>5,559<\/td>\n<td>02835<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Little Compton<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>3,616<\/td>\n<td>02837<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Several of the six towns also carry well-known village names that show up on maps and mail but<br \/>\nare not separate municipalities. Adamsville, a crossroads village that straddles the Little<br \/>\nCompton&#8211;Westport, Massachusetts line, keeps its own historic center and a landmark water<br \/>\ntower locally called the Spite Tower. Sachuest, the easternmost neighborhood of Middletown, gives<br \/>\nits name to Second Beach, Third Beach and the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge. Tiverton&#8217;s<br \/>\nsouthern village core is itself a separate census-designated place &mdash; Tiverton CDP, population<br \/>\n7,809 in 2020 &mdash; distinct from the town of Tiverton&#8217;s countywide total above.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>02840 &mdash; Newport (the county seat&#8217;s main code)<\/li>\n<li>02841 &mdash; Naval Station Newport, a separate military ZIP inside Newport and Middletown<\/li>\n<li>02871 &mdash; Portsmouth<\/li>\n<li>02842 &mdash; Middletown<\/li>\n<li>02878 &mdash; Tiverton<\/li>\n<li>02835 &mdash; Jamestown<\/li>\n<li>02837 &mdash; Little Compton<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Every incorporated place in the county has held its own ZIP code since the modern postal system<br \/>\nwas set up in the 1960s; there are no unincorporated communities left without one.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Newport County is built on water almost as much as land. Three of its six towns sit on islands<br \/>\nin Narragansett Bay: Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth share Aquidneck Island, the bay&#8217;s<br \/>\nlargest, while Jamestown occupies most of Conanicut Island just to the west. Tiverton and Little<br \/>\nCompton form the county&#8217;s mainland arm on the eastern shore of the Sakonnet River, across from<br \/>\nAquidneck. Bridges do the work causeways can&#8217;t: the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, the longest<br \/>\nsuspension bridge in New England, links Jamestown to Newport; the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge<br \/>\ncarries traffic west to North Kingstown and the mainland; and the Sakonnet River Bridge on Route 24<br \/>\nconnects Tiverton to Portsmouth.<\/p>\n<p>Bristol County, Rhode Island borders Newport County to the north, and Kent County, Rhode Island<br \/>\nlies to the northwest across the bay. Washington County, Rhode Island sits to the west, also across<br \/>\nopen water rather than a land line. Bristol County, Massachusetts adjoins Tiverton and Little<br \/>\nCompton to the east; it has no matching page on this site. <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/bristol-county-rhode-island\/\">Bristol County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/kent-county-rhode-island\/\">Kent County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/washington-county-rhode-island\/\">Washington County<\/a> are all<br \/>\nlinked here.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Newport County had a population of 85,643 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the<br \/>\ncounty near 83,468 residents, a slight decline typical of Rhode Island&#8217;s older coastal<br \/>\ncounties. Newport and Portsmouth are the two largest communities, together holding just over half<br \/>\nthe county&#8217;s population. Median household income runs $103,514, well above Rhode Island&#8217;s<br \/>\nstatewide figure of $84,972. Population density works out to about 840 people per square mile of<br \/>\nland, high for a county with no interstate highway, reflecting how tightly built the island towns<br \/>\nare compared with Tiverton and Little Compton&#8217;s open farmland.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Health care and social assistance is the county&#8217;s largest employment sector, with about<br \/>\n5,459 workers, followed by professional, scientific and technical services at 4,458 and educational<br \/>\nservices at 4,361, out of roughly 41,500 people employed countywide. Naval Station Newport, home to<br \/>\nthe Naval War College and several other Navy commands, is the single largest employer on Aquidneck<br \/>\nIsland and anchors Middletown&#8217;s economy as much as Newport&#8217;s. Portsmouth hosts Raytheon<br \/>\nMissiles &amp; Defense, one of the county&#8217;s largest private employers, along with the<br \/>\nheadquarters of US Sailing, the sport&#8217;s national governing body. Salve Regina University and<br \/>\ntourism &mdash; museums, mansions and the waterfront &mdash; drive much of Newport&#8217;s own<br \/>\nemployment. The county&#8217;s biggest annual draw is the Newport Jazz Festival each August at Fort<br \/>\nAdams State Park, running alongside the Newport Folk Festival on the same grounds.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Newport County was organized on 22 June 1703 as one of Rhode Island&#8217;s two original<br \/>\ncounties, alongside Providence County, and takes its name from the town of Newport. Portsmouth,<br \/>\nsettled 7 March 1638 by dissenters including Anne Hutchinson, William Coddington and Dr. John<br \/>\nClarke after they were banished from Massachusetts Bay, is Rhode Island&#8217;s second-oldest<br \/>\nmunicipality after Providence. Coddington and Clarke broke away the following year to found<br \/>\nNewport in 1639.<\/p>\n<p>Newport grew into a major colonial seaport and, later, a Gilded Age retreat for wealthy families<br \/>\nwho built lavish summer &#8220;cottages&#8221; along Bellevue Avenue between roughly 1870 and 1915,<br \/>\nincluding The Breakers, Marble House, Chateau-sur-Mer and Rosecliff. Touro Synagogue, dedicated in<br \/>\n1763, is the oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States and home to the country&#8217;s<br \/>\nsecond-oldest Jewish congregation. Newport hosted the America&#8217;s Cup sailing races from 1930 to<br \/>\n1983 before the event moved overseas.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>No interstate highway crosses Newport County. Routes 24, 77, 81, 114, 138, 138A, 179, 214 and 238<br \/>\ncarry most of the through traffic, along with the bridges described above.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Providence &mdash; about 33 miles northwest<\/li>\n<li>Fall River, Massachusetts &mdash; about 12 miles northeast<\/li>\n<li>Warwick &mdash; about 28 miles west<\/li>\n<li>New Bedford, Massachusetts &mdash; about 20 miles east<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport, in Warwick about 28 miles from Newport, is the<br \/>\nnearest major commercial airport. Newport State Airport in Middletown handles general aviation<br \/>\nonly. No Amtrak train stops in the county; the closest station is Providence, roughly 30 miles<br \/>\nnorthwest of Newport by road.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Newport County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits at the mouth of Narragansett Bay in southeastern Rhode Island, about 33 miles south of<br \/>\nProvidence, split across Aquidneck Island, Conanicut Island and the eastern mainland shore.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Newport County?<\/strong><br \/>\n85,643 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 83,468.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Newport County?<\/strong><br \/>\n102 square miles (260 km2) of land plus 211 square miles of water, for a total of 314 square<br \/>\nmiles that is roughly two-thirds bay and ocean.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Newport County?<\/strong><br \/>\nNewport, settled in 1639, is the county seat and largest city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and cities are in Newport County?<\/strong><br \/>\nSix incorporated places in all: the city of Newport and the towns of Portsmouth, Middletown,<br \/>\nTiverton, Jamestown and Little Compton. There is no unincorporated territory.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Newport County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n02840 and 02841 for Newport, 02871 for Portsmouth, 02842 for Middletown, 02878 for Tiverton,<br \/>\n02835 for Jamestown and 02837 for Little Compton.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Does Newport County have a county government?<\/strong><br \/>\nNo. Like all five Rhode Island counties, Newport County has no county government; each town and<br \/>\nthe city of Newport run their own police, schools and public works, and the county line mainly<br \/>\nmarks a court and sheriff&#8217;s-district boundary.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/rhode-island\/\">Towns and villages in Rhode Island<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\u00b031\u2032N 71\u00b016\u2032W. Water &mdash; mostly Narragansett Bay &mdash; adds another 211 square miles, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Newport County, Rhode Island","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 6 towns and cities in Newport County, Rhode Island - population and ZIP for each, plus Newport's Gilded Age history and Naval Station economy.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-7345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-rhode-island","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7345"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9268,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7345\/revisions\/9268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}