Washington County, Rhode Island

Washington County population, land area and income

Washington County had 130,333 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 329.3 square miles of land. It ranks 3rd of 5 in Rhode Island by population and 2nd by land area. That works out to 395.8 people per square mile, 4.1 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in Rhode Island has 130,333 residents, about the same as Washington County.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $101,749 is in the top tenth among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Washington County's population changed since 2020

Washington County gained 564 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.4%. That ranks 3rd of 5 in Rhode Island for growth. The median Rhode Island county changed by +0.4%, and the state as a whole by +1.4%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Washington County recorded 3,591 births and 5,790 deaths, a natural change of -2,199. Net international migration added +1,274 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +1,458. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 2,199 people.

Where Washington County is

The Census internal point of Washington County is at 41.396800, -71.620300. It sits in UTM zone 19N. The map shades Rhode Island's 5 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Washington County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Washington County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Washington County. Its 130,333 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Washington County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Washington County, including 3 across a state line. The most populous is Suffolk County, NY, with 1,535,909 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• NY

  Suffolk County, NY

  1,535,909 people

  64 mi WSW

• CT

  Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT

  282,602 people

  26 mi WNW

• Kent County

  172,450 people

  19 mi N

• CT

  Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT

  97,701 people

  36 mi NNW

• Newport County

  83,468 people

  19 mi ENE

Distance to Providence and the nearest big city

Providence is 31.8 miles NNE of Washington County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Providence, RI (population 194,706), 31.3 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Newport, RI (population 24,482), 16.5 miles away.

Washington County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Washington County is 44009: state code 44 for Rhode Island plus county code 009. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $101,749.