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List of municipalities in Rhode Island facts for kids

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Municipalities of Rhode Island
Municipalities in Rhode Island

Rhode Island is a state located in the Northeastern United States. According to the 2010 United States Census, Rhode Island is the 8th least populous state with &&&&&&&&01052567.&&&&&01,052,567 inhabitants and the smallest by land area spanning 1,033.81 square miles (2,677.6 km2) of land. It is divided into 39 incorporated municipalities, including 8 cities and 31 towns, grouped into 5 historical counties that have no municipal functions as the state has no county level of government. The entire area of the state is governed by town administrations except for areas within the boundaries of cities. While some communities within towns and cities are census-designated places, there are no unincorporated areas in the state.

Municipalities in Rhode Island can incorporate as a town or city by a special act of the state legislature and there is no minimum population requirement. Eight municipalities were re-incorporated as cities operating under a charter, while the other 31 remain as towns which perform similar services. Since Rhode Island has no county level of government, cities and towns provide services commonly performed by county governments in other states. The state's cities and towns may adopt one of four forms of government: council–manager, mayor–council, town council–town meeting, or administrator–council. The primary difference between these forms of government is how the chief executive is selected. The Council–manager system involves an elected council who exercise overall control of the local government and a chief executive termed city or town manager who is generally appointed by and responsible to the council for the administration of local policies. Council–manager systems may elect a mayor but they have no formal administrative functions with the potential exception of a degree of veto power. Mayor–council systems have a similarly elected council however the mayor is elected and yields administrative power. In the town council–town meeting system, there is no full-time chief executive. There are no towns or cities in Rhode Island that use the administrator–council form of government.

The largest municipality by population in Rhode Island is the state capital of Providence, with 178,042 residents. The smallest municipality by population is New Shoreham on Block Island, with 1,051 year-round residents. The largest municipality by land area is Coventry which spans 59.05 sq mi (152.9 km2), while Central Falls is the smallest at 1.20 sq mi (3.1 km2). Rhode Island and Hawaii are the only two states in which all of the incorporated municipalities have a population greater than 1,000 people.

Cities and towns

  • Largest municipalities in Rhode Island by population
  • The skyline of Providence

    Downtown Providence, the capital and most populous city in Rhode Island

  • Boats and waterfront homes in Warwick

    Boats and homes in Warwick, the second most populous city in Rhode Island

  • A view over Cranston

    A view over Cranston, the third most populous city in Rhode Island

  • Pawtucket city hall

    The city hall of Pawtucket, the fourth most populous city in Rhode Island

       State capital and largest city

Name Type County Year established
 Year incorporated
 Form of government Population
(2010)		 Population
(2000)		 Change Land area
(2010)		 Population density
sq mi km2
Barrington Town Bristol 1653 1770 Council–manager 16,310 16,819 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.0% 8.22 21.3 1,984.2/sq mi (766.1/km2)
Bristol Town Bristol 1680 1746 Council–manager 22,954 22,469 &10000000000000002158529+2.2% 9.82 25.4 2,337.5/sq mi (902.5/km2)
Burrillville Town Providence 1730 1806 Council–manager 15,955 15,796 &10000000000000001006583+1.0% 55.03 142.5 289.9/sq mi (111.9/km2)
Central Falls City Providence 1730 1895 Mayor–council 19,376 18,928 &10000000000000002366863+2.4% 1.20 3.1 16,146.7/sq mi (6,234.3/km2)
Charlestown Town Washington 1669 1738 Council–manager 7,827 7,859 Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.4% 36.45 94.4 214.7/sq mi (82.9/km2)
Coventry Town Kent 1639 1743 Council–manager 35,014 33,668 &10000000000000003997861+4.0% 59.05 152.9 593.0/sq mi (229.0/km2)
Cranston City Providence 1754 1910 Mayor–council 80,387 79,269 &10000000000000001410387+1.4% 28.34 73.4 2,836.5/sq mi (1,095.2/km2)
Cumberland Town Providence 1746 1746 Mayor–council 33,506 31,840 &10000000000000005232412+5.2% 26.45 68.5 1,266.8/sq mi (489.1/km2)
East Greenwich Town Kent 1677 1677 Council–manager 13,146 12,948 &10000000000000001529193+1.5% 16.39 42.4 802.1/sq mi (309.7/km2)
East Providence City Providence 1812 1958 Mayor–council 47,037 48,688 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.4% 13.24 34.3 3,552.6/sq mi (1,371.7/km2)
Exeter Town Washington 1641 1641 Town meeting 6,425 6,045 &10000000000000006286186+6.3% 57.47 148.8 111.8/sq mi (43.2/km2)
Foster Town Providence 1636 1781 Town meeting 4,606 4,274 &10000000000000007767898+7.8% 50.80 131.6 90.7/sq mi (35.0/km2)
Glocester Town Providence 1639 1730–1731 Town meeting 9,746 9,948 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.0% 54.18 140.3 179.9/sq mi (69.5/km2)
Hopkinton Town Washington 1639 1757 Town meeting 8,188 7,836 &10000000000000004492087+4.5% 42.95 111.2 190.6/sq mi (73.6/km2)
Jamestown Town Newport 1639 1678 Council–manager 5,405 5,622 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.9% 9.45 24.5 572.0/sq mi (220.9/km2)
Johnston Town Providence 1636 1759 Mayor–council 28,769 28,195 &10000000000000002035821+2.0% 23.43 60.7 1,227.9/sq mi (474.1/km2)
Lincoln Town Providence 1650 1871 Council–manager 21,105 20,898 &10000000000000000990525+1.0% 18.12 46.9 1,164.7/sq mi (449.7/km2)
Little Compton Town Newport 1682 1746 Town meeting 3,492 3,593 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.8% 20.52 53.1 170.2/sq mi (65.7/km2)
Middletown Town Newport 1639 1743 Council–manager 16,150 17,334 Template:Number table sorting/negative−6.8% 12.72 32.9 1,269.7/sq mi (490.2/km2)
Narragansett Town Washington 1888 1901 Council–manager 15,868 16,361 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.0% 13.89 36.0 1,142.4/sq mi (441.1/km2)
Newport City Newport 1639 1784 Council–manager 24,672 26,475 Template:Number table sorting/negative−6.8% 7.67 19.9 3,216.7/sq mi (1,242.0/km2)
New Shoreham Town Washington 1664 1672 Council–manager 1,051 1,010 &10000000000000004059405+4.1% 9.08 23.5 115.7/sq mi (44.7/km2)
North Kingstown Town Washington 1641 1674 Council–manager 26,486 26,326 &10000000000000000607764+0.6% 43.14 111.7 614.0/sq mi (237.1/km2)
North Providence Town Providence 1636 1765 Mayor–council 32,078 32,411 Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.0% 5.62 14.6 5,707.8/sq mi (2,203.8/km2)
North Smithfield Town Providence 1730 1871 Council–manager 11,967 10,618 &10000000000000012704840+12.7% 23.80 61.6 502.8/sq mi (194.1/km2)
Pawtucket City Providence 1671 1954 Mayor–council 71,148 72,958 Template:Number table sorting/negative−2.5% 8.68 22.5 8,196.8/sq mi (3,164.8/km2)
Portsmouth Town Newport 1638 1640 Council–manager 17,389 17,149 &10000000000000001399498+1.4% 22.98 59.5 756.7/sq mi (292.2/km2)
ProvidenceState capital City Providence 1636 1832 Mayor–council 178,042 173,618 &10000000000000002548122+2.5% 18.40 47.7 9,676.2/sq mi (3,736.0/km2)
Richmond Town Washington 1669 1747 Town meeting 7,708 7,222 &10000000000000006729437+6.7% 40.29 104.4 191.3/sq mi (73.9/km2)
Scituate Town Providence 1636 1730 Town meeting 10,329 10,324 0.0% 48.16 124.7 214.5/sq mi (82.8/km2)
Smithfield Town Providence 1636 1730 Council–manager 21,430 20,613 &10000000000000003963518+4.0% 26.31 68.1 814.5/sq mi (314.5/km2)
South Kingstown Town Washington 1657 1723 Council–manager 30,639 27,921 &10000000000000009734608+9.7% 56.45 146.2 542.8/sq mi (209.6/km2)
Tiverton Town Newport 1694 1746 Town meeting 15,780 15,260 &10000000000000003407601+3.4% 29.05 75.2 543.2/sq mi (209.7/km2)
Warren Town Bristol 1620 1747 Council–manager 10,611 11,360 Template:Number table sorting/negative−6.6% 6.12 15.9 1,733.8/sq mi (669.4/km2)
Warwick City Kent 1642 1931 Mayor–council 82,672 85,808 Template:Number table sorting/negative−3.7% 35.04 90.8 2,359.4/sq mi (911.0/km2)
Westerly Town Washington 1661 1669 Council–manager 22,787 22,966 Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.8% 29.52 76.5 771.9/sq mi (298.0/km2)
West Greenwich Town Kent 1639 1741 Town meeting 6,135 5,085 &10000000000000020648967+20.6% 50.26 130.2 122.1/sq mi (47.1/km2)
West Warwick Town Kent 1648 1913 Council–manager 29,191 29,581 Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.3% 7.79 20.2 3,747.2/sq mi (1,446.8/km2)
Woonsocket City Providence 1867 1888 Mayor–council 41,186 43,224 Template:Number table sorting/negative−4.7% 7.74 20.0 5,321.2/sq mi (2,054.5/km2)
Total — — — — — 1,052,567 1,048,319 &10000000000000000405220+0.4% &&&&&&&&&&&01033.8200001,033.82 2,677.6 1,018.13/sq mi (393.10/km2)

Images for kids

  • Ri towns by population

    Municipalities by population, according to 2020 census data

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Anexo:Localidades de Rhode Island para niños

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