Rhode Island Cities by Population (2024)

The smallest state by area in the U.S. surprisingly does not have the smallest population, though it comes come. It is ranked 43 among the other cities in terms of population. Providence, the capital city, is the most populous and the only city with a population exceeding 100,000. The 2017 estimate was 179,207 inhabitants. The state has seven cities with populations of at least 10,000: Warwick, Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence, Woonsocket, Newport and Central Falls. With Providence, these are the only eight cities in the state, while there are 31 towns. These are spread across five different countries.

There are no population requirements for cities and towns. A special act of the legislature is how an incorporated area can become a city or town. There are no county levels of government, so cities and towns take on their own services normally provided by a county. There are four different types of governments that may be selected by cities or towns: council-manager, mayor-council, administrator-council, and town council-town meeting.