Rhode Island - Demographics

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Rhode Island was 1,051,302 on July 1, 2011, a −0.12% decrease since the 2010 United States Census. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Providence County, in the city of Cranston. A corridor of population can be seen from the Providence area, stretching northwest following the Blackstone River to Woonsocket, where nineteenth-century mills drove industry and development.

According to the 2010 Census, 81.4% of the population was White (76.4% non-Hispanic white), 5.7% was Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.9% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 3.3% from two or more races. 12.4% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (they may be of any race).

Of the people residing in Rhode Island, 58.7% were born in Rhode Island, 26.6% were born in a different state, 2.0% were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s), and 12.6% were foreign born.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, Rhode Island had an estimated population of 1,076,189, which is a decrease of 3,727, or 0.3%, from the prior year and an increase of 27,870, or 2.7%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 15,220 people (that is 66,973 births minus 51,753 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 14,001 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 18,965 people, and migration within the country produced a net decrease of 4,964 people.

The ten largest ancestry groups in Rhode Island are:
19.0% Italian
18.3% Irish
12.1% English
8.2% Portuguese
8.0% French
6.4% French Canadian
3.3% Dominican
3.3% Puerto Rican
2.2% Chinese
1.8% Guatemalan

Hispanics in the state make up 12.7% of the population, predominantly Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Guatemalan populations.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 8.07% of the population aged 5 and older speaks Spanish at home, while 3.80% speaks Portuguese, 1.96% French, and 1.39% Italian.

The state's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, has declined from 96.1% in 1970 to 76.5% in 2011. As of 2011, 40.3% of Rhode Island's children under the age of 1 belonged to minority groups.

6.1% of Rhode Island's population were reported as under 5, 23.6% under 18, and 14.5% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 52% of the population.

Rhode Island has a higher percentage of Americans of Portuguese ancestry, including Portuguese Americans and Cape Verdean Americans than any other state in the nation. Additionally, the state also has the highest percentage of Liberian immigrants, with more than 15,000 residing in the State. Italian Americans make up a plurality in central and southern Providence County and French Canadians form a large part of northern Providence County. Irish Americans have a strong presence in Newport and Kent counties. Yankees of English ancestry still have a presence in the state as well, especially in Washington County, and are often referred to as "Swamp Yankees." African immigrants, including Cape Verdean Americans, Liberian Americans, Nigerian Americans and Ghanaian Americans, form significant and growing communities in Rhode Island. Additionally, although Rhode Island has the smallest total area of all fifty states, it has the second highest population density of any state in the Union, second only to New Jersey.