County profile

Kent County

Rhode Island · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
171,456
Median household income
$94,345
People below poverty
7.5%
Median home value
$366,100

Income

The median income of households in Kent County, Rhode Island was $94,345. An estimated 3.8% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 15.2% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 3.8
$10,000 to $14,999 3
$15,000 to $24,999 5.9
$25,000 to $34,999 5.4
$35,000 to $49,999 8.7
$50,000 to $74,999 13.9
$75,000 to $99,999 12.2
$100,000 to $149,999 20.4
$150,000 to $199,999 11.6
$200,000 or more 15.2

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 77573
Female 63044

An estimated 76.4% of households received earnings. An estimated 36.2% of households received Social Security and an estimated 28.1 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $24,171. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 76.4
Social Security 36.2
Retirement income 28.1
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 6
Cash public assistance income 2.4

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 7.5 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 6.6% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 8.4% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 7.4% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 7.5
Children under 18 years below poverty 6.6
People 65 years old and over below poverty 8.4
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 7.4

In 2020-2024, 12 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 28.7% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 55.1% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 22.8% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024, 96.8% had health insurance coverage and 3.2% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 75.2% and public coverage was 35.8%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 1.4%.


In 2020-2024, Kent County, Rhode Island had a total population of 171,456 - 87,631 (51.1%) females and 83,825 (48.9%) males. The median age was 43.8 years. An estimated 18% of the population was under 18 years, 31.7% was 19 to 44 years, 27.8% was 45 to 64 years, and 20.4 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 4134 3622
5 to 9 4295 4730
10 to 14 4704 3724
15 to 19 4684 4306
20 to 24 4418 4200
25 to 29 5532 5498
30 to 34 6056 5967
35 to 39 5772 5634
40 to 44 5798 5531
45 to 49 4930 5094
50 to 54 5648 5950
55 to 59 6617 6144
60 to 64 5925 7526
65 to 69 5472 6280
70 to 74 4144 4931
75 to 79 2689 3412
80 to 84 1631 2610
85 and over 1376 2472

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 85.2% were White; 2.1% were Black or African American; 6.6% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 2.9% were Asian; 0.8% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 7.2% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 6.9% of the people in Kent County, Rhode Island were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 83.7% of the people in Kent County, Rhode Island were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 72,839 households in Kent County, Rhode Island. The average household size was 2.33 people.

Married-couple households made up 46.1% of the households in Kent County, Rhode Island while cohabiting couple households made up 8.9% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 27.2% of all households, while 17.7% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 12.4% of households were male householders living alone, and 16.7% were female householders living alone, for a total of 29.1% of all households.

In Kent County, Rhode Island, 26.5% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 35.4% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 46.1
Cohabiting Couples 8.9
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
17.7
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
27.2

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 49.8% of males and 46.9% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 35.4 26.9
Now married, except separated 49.8 46.9
Separated 0.9 1.4
Widowed 2.8 9.8
Divorced 11.1 15

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Kent County, Rhode Island, 3,061 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 19.6% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 92.9% of the people living in Kent County, Rhode Island were U.S. natives. 69.2% of the Kent County, Rhode Island population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 7.1% of Kent County, Rhode Island residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 58% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 72.5 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Kent County, Rhode Island come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Kent County, Rhode Island.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 29.8
Asia 31.4
Europe 27.8
Africa 6
Northern America 4.7
Oceania 0.2

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024, 9.3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 3.8% of people at least five years old; 2.9% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 3.8
Other Indo-European languages 3.4
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 1.9
Other languages 0.3

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 90.9 % of the people at least one year old living in Kent County, Rhode Island were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 90.9
Different house, same county 3.4
Different county, same state 3.2
Different state 2.2
Abroad 0.4

Education

In 2020-2024, 93.1 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 34.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 6.9% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Kent County, Rhode Island was 34,011 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 2,264 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 22,474. College or graduate school enrollment was 9,273.

Educational Attainment of People in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 6.9
High school diploma or equivalency 28.5
Some college, no degree 19.8
Associate's degree 10.2
Bachelor's degree 21.3
Graduate or professional degree 13.4

Disability

In Kent County, Rhode Island, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 14.8 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 5.6% of people under 18 years old, to 12.3% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 31% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Kent County, Rhode Island, 63.2 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 33.5% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 81.1% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 13.4% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 5.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 74,102 81.1
Federal, state, or local government workers 12,238 13.4
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 4,918 5.4

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Kent County, Rhode Island worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 0.4
Construction 6.3
Manufacturing 11.3
Wholesale trade 2.3
Retail trade 14.4
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 4.6
Information 1.4
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 7.4
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 10.5
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 24.9
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 7.7
Other Services, except public administration 4.2
Public administration 4.5

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 39,744 43.5
Service occupations 13,642 14.9
Sales and office occupations 20,848 22.8
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 7,148 7.8
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 9,970 10.9

Commuting to Work

An estimated 78.2% of Kent County, Rhode Island workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.2% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 25.1 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 78.2
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.2
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.8
Walked 0.7
Other means 1.2
Worked from home 11.9

In 2020-2024, Kent County, Rhode Island had a total of 76,529 housing units. Of these housing units, 71.2% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 27% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 1.6% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 71.2
Apartments in multi-unit structures 27
Mobile homes 1.6
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

3.7% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 19.9% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Kent County, Rhode Island was 5.5 rooms, and of these housing units 56.4% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Kent County, Rhode Island had 72,839 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 3,690 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 73.1% while renters occupied 26.9%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.52 and in renter-occupied houses it was 1.81.

3.2% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 14.6% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 6% and another 21.4% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Kent County, Rhode Island:

House Heating Fuel Used in Kent County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 54.2
Electricity 11.6
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 31.1
All other fuels 2.7
No fuel used 0.5

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Kent County, Rhode Island was $366,100.

Of the owner-occupied households, 67.3 % had a mortgage. 32.7% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $2,195 and for owners without a mortgage it was $868.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Kent County, Rhode Island was $1,327. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.