Providence, Rhode Island - Demographics

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, the population comprised 173,618 people, 162,389 households, and 35,859 families. The population density was 9,401.7 inhabitants per square mile (3,629.4/km²), characteristic of comparatively older cities in New England such as New Haven, Connecticut; Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut. Also like these cities, its population peaked in the 1940s just prior to the nationwide period of rapid suburbanization.

Providence has had a substantial Italian population since the start of the 20th century, with 14% (a pluralityc) of the population claiming Italian ancestry. Italian influence manifests itself in Providence's Little Italy in Federal Hill. Irish immigrants have also had considerable influence on the city's history, with 8% of residents claiming Irish heritage.

Belying Providence's traditionally white makeup is the sizable minority presence it has acquired in the last twenty years, embodied in the election of its first Latino mayor in 2010, Dominican-American Angel Taveras. Though nearby cities like Boston, Hartford, New Haven, and Springfield have longer-standing black and Latino communities, Providence now surpasses all but Hartford in the density of its minority population, with non-Hispanic whites comprising less than half (37.6%) of the population, down from 89.5% in 1970. Though salient contributions to this growth have been among Asians and unspecified races, the most dramatic change comes from Hispanics, whose presence has increased fivefold. Having origins in Puerto Rico, Colombia, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and Central America (particularly Guatemala), Hispanics have strong influence in the neighborhoods of Elmwood, the West End, Upper, and Lower South Providence. Hispanic impact is even larger in the city's schools. Hispanics represent over half (55%) of all students in the city's school system while comprising only 38.1% of Providence's population.

In addition, Providence, like the nearby Massachusetts cities of Fall River and New Bedford, has a considerable community of immigrants from various Portuguese-speaking countries, living mostly in the areas of Washington Park and Fox Point. Portuguese is the city's third-largest nationality, (after Italian and Irish) at 4% of the population while Cape Verdeans make up another 2%.

African Americans constitute 16% of the city with the largest percentages in Mount Hope and Upper and Lower South Providence neighborhoods. Asians are 6% of Providence's population and have enclaves scattered throughout the city. Another 6% of the city has multiracial ancestry. Native Americans and Pacific Islanders make up the remaining 1.3%. With Liberians comprising 0.4% of the population, the city is home to one of the largest Liberian immigrant populations in the country. The city has a small Jewish community, estimated at 7500 in 2002 or roughly 4% of the city's population.

The Providence metropolitan area, which includes Providence, Fall River, Massachusetts, and Warwick is estimated to be 1,622,520. In 2006, this area was officially added to the Boston Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the fifth-largest CSA in the country. In the last fifteen years, Providence has experienced a sizable growth in its under-18 population, attributed to the influx of Hispanics. The median age of the city is 28 years, while the largest age cohort is 20 to 24 year olds, owing to the city's large student population.

The per capita income, as of the 2000 census, was $15,525, which is well below both the state average of $29,113, and the national average of $21,587. The median income for a household was $26,867, and the median income for a family in Providence was $32,058, according to the 2000 census. The city has one of the highest rates of poverty in the nation with 29.1% of the population and 23.9% of families living below the poverty line in 2000, the largest concentrations being found in the city's Olneyville, and Upper and Lower South Providence areas. Poverty has affected children at a disproportionately higher rate with 40.1% of those under the age of 18 living below the poverty line, concentrated particularly west of downtown in the neighborhoods of Hartford, Federal Hill, and Olneyville.