Rhode Island Population 2024

The state of Rhode Island is the smallest in the United States as far as surface area is concerned, but it has a healthy population by comparison. The last official US Census in 2010 showed that there were 1,052,567 people living in the state, and that made Rhode Island larger than seven other states across the country.

Read on to find out more about the population of Rhode Island, or click through to our overview article about the population of the United States to find out more about the demographics of the country as a whole.

The national 2010 Census showed Rhode Island's population was 1,052,567. The state's history has been filled with small falls alongside increases, although it has gone up steadily at every official census.

Rhode Island Area and Population Density

Rhode Island has just 1,545 square miles, and the Rhode Island population figures mean that there are 1,018.1 people on average for every square mile. The state is second only to New Jersey in terms of density.

Rhode Island has a corridor of the population from the large Providence area to the northwest, following Blackstone River to Woonsocket. The state has just five counties, but no county government. Only the city of Providence has a population over 100,000, with an estimated 179,000 residents. Following in size are Warwick (81,699), Cranston (81,076), Pawtucket (71,591) and East Providence (47,408). The two most populated counties in Rhode Island are Providence and Kent with respective populations of 637,357 and 163,760.

Rhode Island Gender and Religion Statistics

The median age across the population of this state is approximately 39.9 years of age. The ratio of females to males in the state is approximately 51.5% females to 48.5% males.

In terms of most preferred religions across the population of Rhode Island, 75% of the population identify with a Christian based faith, while 5% are affiliated with non-Christian based faiths, and 20% are unaffiliated with any religion in particular or do not practice any religion at all.

Rhode Island Boundary, Census, and Statehood History

Rhode Island was one of the 13 original States and has had nearly its present boundaries since Colonial times. However, a long-standing boundary dispute with Massachusetts involved a sizable exchange of territory when finally settled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1862. Census coverage included all of Rhode Island from 1790 on.

The largest ancestry groups in Rhode Island include: Irish (19%), Italian (18.7%), English (11.7%), French (11,3%), Portuguese (9.6%), German (5.6%), French Canadian (4.7%), Polish (4.1%), Dominican (4.02%), Puerto Rican (3.14%) and Chinese (2.2%). The state has the highest percentage of people of Portuguese ancestry than any other state, as well as a high percentage of Liberian immigrants, accounting for 15,000 residents.

When compared to the diversity other states, Rhode Island is ranked 13th in terms of the percentage of its Hispanic and Latino residents. Breaking this down further, Rhode Island is also ranked 6th in the nation for its percentage of Mexican American residents and 6th in Puerto Rican residents.

Rhode Island is ranked 20th out of all 50 states as far as percentage of Asian American inhabitants compared to total population of the state. In terms of pure numbers, the state is ranked 38th for its number of Asian Americans. With just 0.6% of its population made up of Native American residents, Rhode Island's Native American population falls below the national average.