List of municipalities in Rhode Island

Rhode Island is a state located in the Northeastern United States. According to the 2020 United States Census, Rhode Island is the 8th least populous state with 1,097,379[1] inhabitants and the smallest by land area spanning 1,033.81 square miles (2,677.6 km2) of land.[2] It is divided into 39 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.[3][4] The entire area of the state is incorporated; all Rhode Island residents live within the borders of a city or town [4] though some communities within towns and cities are census-designated places.

Map of the United States with Rhode Island highlighted
Map of the United States with Rhode Island highlighted
Municipalities in Rhode Island
Municipalities in Rhode Island
Municipalities in Rhode Island
Municipalities by population, according to 2020 census data

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.[4] Eight municipalities were re-incorporated as cities operating under a charter, while the other 31 remain as towns which perform similar services.[4] Since Rhode Island has no county level of government, cities and towns provide services commonly performed by county governments in other states.[4] 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.[5] The primary difference between these forms of government is how the chief executive is selected.[5] 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.[6] Council–manager systems may elect a mayor but they have no formal administrative functions with the potential exception of a degree of veto power.[6] 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.[5]

The largest municipality by population in Rhode Island is the state capital of Providence, with 190,934 residents. The smallest municipality by population is New Shoreham on Block Island, with 1,410 year-round residents.[1] 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).[2] Rhode Island and Hawaii are the only two states in which all of the municipalities have a population greater than 1,000 people.[2]

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
  • A view over Cranston
    A view over Cranston, the second most populous city in Rhode Island
  • Boats and waterfront homes in Warwick
    Boats and homes in Warwick, 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[7] County Form of government[7] Population
(2020)[1]		 Population
(2010)[2]		 Change Land area
(2020)[2]		 Population density Year established
[7]		 Year incorporated
[lower-alpha 1][7][8]
sq mi km2
BarringtonTownBristolCouncil–manager17,153 16,310 +5.2%8.22 21.32,086.7/sq mi (805.7/km2)16531770
BristolTownBristolCouncil–manager22,493 22,954 −2.0%9.82 25.42,290.5/sq mi (884.4/km2)16801746
BurrillvilleTownProvidenceCouncil–manager16,158 15,955 +1.3%55.03 142.5293.6/sq mi (113.4/km2)17301806
Central FallsCityProvidenceMayor–council22,583 19,376 +16.6%1.20 3.118,819.2/sq mi (7,266.1/km2)17301895
CharlestownTownWashingtonCouncil–manager7,997 7,827 +2.2%36.45 94.4219.4/sq mi (84.7/km2)16691738
CoventryTownKentCouncil–manager35,688 35,014 +1.9%59.05 152.9604.4/sq mi (233.3/km2)16391743[lower-alpha 2]
CranstonCityProvidenceMayor–council82,934 80,387 +3.2%28.34 73.42,926.4/sq mi (1,129.9/km2)17541910
CumberlandTownProvidenceMayor–council36,405 33,506 +8.7%26.45 68.51,376.4/sq mi (531.4/km2)17461746
East GreenwichTownKentCouncil–manager14,312 13,146 +8.9%16.39 42.4873.2/sq mi (337.2/km2)16771677[lower-alpha 3]
East ProvidenceCityProvidenceMayor–council47,139 47,037 +0.2%13.24 34.33,560.3/sq mi (1,374.7/km2)18121958
ExeterTownWashingtonTown meeting6,460 6,425 +0.5%57.47 148.8112.4/sq mi (43.4/km2)16411641[lower-alpha 4]
FosterTownProvidenceTown meeting4,469 4,606 −3.0%50.80 131.688.0/sq mi (34.0/km2)16361781
GlocesterTownProvidenceTown meeting9,974 9,746 +2.3%54.18 140.3184.1/sq mi (71.1/km2)16391730–1731
HopkintonTownWashingtonTown meeting8,398 8,188 +2.6%42.95 111.2195.5/sq mi (75.5/km2)16391757
JamestownTownNewportCouncil–manager5,559 5,405 +2.8%9.45 24.5588.3/sq mi (227.1/km2)16391678
JohnstonTownProvidenceMayor–council29,568 28,769 +2.8%23.43 60.71,262.0/sq mi (487.3/km2)16361759
LincolnTownProvidenceCouncil–manager22,529 21,105 +6.7%18.12 46.91,243.3/sq mi (480.0/km2)16501871
Little ComptonTownNewportTown meeting3,616 3,492 +3.6%20.52 53.1176.2/sq mi (68.0/km2)16821746
MiddletownTownNewportCouncil–manager17,075 16,150 +5.7%12.72 32.91,342.4/sq mi (518.3/km2)16391743
NarragansettTownWashingtonCouncil–manager14,532 15,868 −8.4%13.89 36.01,046.2/sq mi (403.9/km2)18881901
NewportCityNewportCouncil–manager25,163 24,672 +2.0%7.67 19.93,280.7/sq mi (1,266.7/km2)16391784[lower-alpha 5]
New ShorehamTownWashingtonCouncil–manager1,410 1,051 +34.2%9.08 23.5155.3/sq mi (60.0/km2)16641672
North KingstownTownWashingtonCouncil–manager27,732 26,486 +4.7%43.14 111.7642.8/sq mi (248.2/km2)16411674
North ProvidenceTownProvidenceMayor–council34,114 32,078 +6.3%5.62 14.66,070.1/sq mi (2,343.7/km2)16361765
North SmithfieldTownProvidenceCouncil–manager12,588 11,967 +5.2%23.80 61.6528.9/sq mi (204.2/km2)17301871
PawtucketCityProvidenceMayor–council75,604 71,148 +6.3%8.68 22.58,710.1/sq mi (3,363.0/km2)16711954
PortsmouthTownNewportCouncil–manager17,871 17,389 +2.8%22.98 59.5777.7/sq mi (300.3/km2)16381640[lower-alpha 6]
Providence†CityProvidenceMayor–council190,934 178,042 +7.2%18.40 47.710,376.8/sq mi (4,006.5/km2)16361832
RichmondTownWashingtonTown meeting8,020 7,708 +4.0%40.29 104.4199.1/sq mi (76.9/km2)16361730
ScituateTownProvidenceTown meeting10,384 10,329 +0.5%48.16 124.7215.6/sq mi (83.2/km2)16361730
SmithfieldTownProvidenceCouncil–manager22,118 21,430 +3.2%26.31 68.1840.7/sq mi (324.6/km2)16361730
South KingstownTownWashingtonCouncil–manager31,931 30,639 +4.2%56.45 146.2565.7/sq mi (218.4/km2)16571723[lower-alpha 7]
TivertonTownNewportTown meeting16,359 15,780 +3.7%29.05 75.2563.1/sq mi (217.4/km2)16941746
WarrenTownBristolCouncil–manager11,147 10,611 +5.1%6.12 15.91,821.4/sq mi (703.2/km2)16201747
WarwickCityKentMayor–council82,823 82,672 +0.2%35.04 90.82,363.7/sq mi (912.6/km2)16421931
WesterlyTownWashingtonCouncil–manager23,359 22,787 +2.5%29.52 76.5791.3/sq mi (305.5/km2)16611669
West GreenwichTownKentTown meeting6,528 6,135 +6.4%50.26 130.2129.9/sq mi (50.1/km2)16391741
West WarwickTownKentCouncil–manager31,012 29,191 +6.2%7.79 20.23,981.0/sq mi (1,537.1/km2)16481913
WoonsocketCityProvidenceMayor–council43,240 41,186 +5.0%7.74 20.05,586.6/sq mi (2,157.0/km2)18671888
Total — — — 1,097,379 1,052,567 +4.3% 1,033.82 2,677.6 1,061.48/sq mi (409.84/km2) — —

See also

Notes
  1. Refers to the date of incorporation of the current municipal status.
  2. There is a discrepancy in dates from the two provided sources, with the Snow (1865) source listing the incorporation date as 1741.
  3. This date is only found in the Snow (1865) source and is absent in the Government of Rhode Island source.
  4. There is a discrepancy in dates from the two provided sources, with the Snow (1865) source listing the incorporation date as 1742–1743.
  5. This date is only found in the Government of Rhode Island source and is absent in the Snow (1865) source.
  6. This date is only found in the Snow (1865) source and is absent in the Government of Rhode Island source.
  7. There is a discrepancy in dates from the two provided sources, with the Snow (1865) source listing the incorporation date as 1722.

References
  1. "Explore Census Data". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  2. "GCT-PH1 – Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 – State — Place and (in selected states) County Subdivision". 2010 United States Census. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  3. "Rhode Island: 2010 Population and Housing Unit Counts 2010 Census of Population and Housing" (PDF). 2010 United States Census. United States Census Bureau. September 2012. p. 18. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  4. "A Brief Summary of Municipal Incorporation Procedures by State" (PDF). Senate of Georgia. Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  5. "Municipal Charters in Rhode Island" (PDF). Rhode Island Department of Revenue: Division of Municipal Finance. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  6. "Council–Manager Form of Government". Town of Coventry, Rhode Island. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  7. "Rhode Island Cities & Towns". Rhode Island Government. Rhode Island Interactive. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  8. Snow, Edwin M. (1865). Report Upon the Census of Rhode Island, 1865: With the Statistics of the Population, Agriculture, Fisheries and Manufactures of the State. University of Michigan. Rhode Island Census Board. p. xxvii.

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