List of counties in Rhode Island

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This is a list of the five counties in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Rhode Island is tied with Hawaii for having the second lowest number of counties of any U.S. state. Delaware has fewer, with three counties.[1] Although Rhode Island is divided into counties, it does not have any local government at the county level.[2] Instead, local governance is provided by the eight cities and thirty-one towns.[3] It has a rich history, and is known as The Plantation State, The Ocean State, or Little Rhody.

Timeline of the counties of Rhode Island

Within Rhode Island, Washington County is often referred to as South County.

The colony of Rhode Island was formed in the 17th century. It was the first of the thirteen original American colonies to declare independence from British rule in 1776. The counties were all established before the Declaration of Independence.[2]

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry.[4] Rhode Island's code is 44. When combined with any county code is written as 44XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.

Alphabetical list

change
County
FIPS code[5] County town[6] Founded[2] Origin[7] Naming History Population
(2020)[8]
Area[8] Map
Bristol County 001 Bristol 1747 Created from land gained from Bristol County, Massachusetts after resolution of a boundary dispute between the two colonies. City of Bristol, England 50,793 24 sq mi
(62 km2)
 
Kent County 003 East Greenwich 1750 Created from part of Providence County. County of Kent, England 170,363 168 sq mi
(435 km2)
 
Newport County 005 Newport 1703 Formed as Rhode Island County in 1703. Renamed Newport County in 1729 Town (now city) of Newport, Wales 85,643 102 sq mi
(264 km2)
 
Providence County 007 Providence 1703 Formed in 1703 as Providence Plantations County. Renamed Providence County in 1729 Divine Providence, a concept reflecting the religious nature of colonial founder Roger Williams 660,741 409 sq mi
(1,059 km2)
 
Washington County 009 Wakefield[2] 1729 Formed in 1729 as Kings County from part of Providence Plantations County. Renamed Washington County in 1781. George Washington, American Revolutionary War general and first President of the USA 129,839 329 sq mi
(852 km2)
 

References

change
  1. "How Many Counties are in Your State?". 2000. Archived from the original on 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 National Association of Counties. "NACo – Find a county". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  3. "Know Rhode Island". Rhode Island Office of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2012-12-24. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  4. "FIPS Publish 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Archived from the original on 2013-09-29. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  5. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA. Archived from the original on 2004-09-22. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  6. "State of Rhode Island General Laws, Chap. 42-3".
  7. "Rhode Island Counties and Towns". 2002-12-19. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "US Census Bureau QuickFacts: Rhode Island". State & County QuickFacts. Retrieved 5 April 2023.