Washington County, Rhode Island

Washington County is a located in the southwestern part of, a. Washington County borders to the north,  in  to the west,  in  to the southwest and  to the east. As of 2000, the population was 123,546.

Originally named King's County and changed to its present name in 1781, the county is usually known within the state as South County.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,458 (563 ). 862 km² (333 sq mi) of it is land and 596 km² (230 sq mi) of it (40.87%) is water.

Demographics
The region of southern Rhode Island that encompasses Washington County today was the subject of conflicting land claims by the late 1650s. The English colonies of, and  as well as two different land companies claimed jurisdiction and title. In 1664 a royal commission under stepped in to adjudicate these conflicting land claims over the so-called. The commission extinguished the claims of Massachusetts, and Rhode Island was granted jusrisdiction until the commission finished processing Connecticut's appeals, which weren't ended until 1726. Settlements of King's Province were named to reflect the (like ), because King Charles II of England also finalized Rhode Island's charter.

As of the of 2000, there were 123,546 people, 46,907 households, and 32,037 families residing in the county. The was 143/km² (371/sq mi). There were 56,816 housing units at an average density of 66/km² (171/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 94.82%, 0.92% or , 0.93% , 1.50% , 0.02% , 0.46% from , and 1.35% from two or more races. 1.44% of the population were or  of any race. 19.2% were of, 18.5% , 14.7% , 6.7% and 5.8%  ancestry according to. 92.8% spoke, 1.8% and 1.6%  as their first language.

There were 46,907 households out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.70% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 11.20% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $53,103, and the median income for a family was $64,112. Males had a median income of $43,956 versus $30,659 for females. The for the county was $25,530. About 4.20% of families and 7.30% of the population were below the, including 7.40% of those under age 18 and 5.60% of those age 65 or over.

Cities, towns, and villages*
*  Villages are census division, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.
 *  (a village of Hopkinton)
 *  (a village of Hopkinton)
 *  (a village of Narragansett)
 * (coextensive with )
 *  (a village of North Kingstown)
 *  (a village of North Kingstown)
 *  (a village of South Kingstown)
 *  (a village of South Kingstown)
 *  (a village of South Kingstown)
 *  (a village of Westerly)
 *  (a village of North Kingstown)
 *  (a village of South Kingstown)
 *  (a village of South Kingstown)
 *  (a village of South Kingstown)
 *  (a village of Westerly)
 *  (a village of South Kingstown)
 *  (a village of Westerly)
 *  (a village of Westerly)

External link

 * National Register of Historic Places listing for Washington Co., Rhode Island