Washington County, Rhode Island

The area today known as Washington County was part of the ancestral lands of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. By the mid-18th century, there were 25 to 30 large plantations in the county, and their owners became very wealthy. though some definitions of South County include outside towns, such as East Greenwich in neighboring Kent County, and exclude towns within Washington County, such as New Shoreham. ==Geography==

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (41%) is water. It is the largest county in Rhode Island by total area. The county's topography ranges from flat along the shoreline to gently rolling hills farther inland. The highest point is a large area approximately above sea level in the Exeter neighborhood of Black Plain; the lowest point is sea level along the coast. The northern boundary west of Davisville is approximately 41.60°N. The western boundary north of Westerly is approximately 71.79°W. National protected areas • Block Island National Wildlife Refuge • John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge • Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge • Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge Major highways • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 129,839. Of the residents, 16.2% were under the age of 18 and 22.7% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 46.9 years, with 93.0 males for every 100 females and 90.9 males for every 100 females age 18 and over. 66.4% of residents lived in urban areas and 33.6% lived in rural areas. The racial makeup of the county was 89.5% White, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian, 1.5% from some other race, and 5.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.5% of the population. There were 65,694 housing units, of which 20.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.6% were owner-occupied and 25.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. ==Communities==

tribal lands Towns • Charlestown • Exeter • Hopkinton • Narragansett • New Shoreham • North Kingstown • Richmond • South Kingstown (traditional county seat) • Westerly Census-designated places • Ashaway • Bradford • Carolina • Charlestown • Hope Valley • Hopkinton • Kingston • Misquamicut • Narragansett Pier • Quonochontaug • Wakefield-Peacedale • Watch Hill • Weekapaug • Westerly • Wyoming Other villages • Alton • Arcadia • Ashaway • Barberville • Bethel • Burdickville • Canonchet • Centerville • Davisville • Galilee • Hamilton • Hopkinton City • Jerusalem • Kenyon • Lafayette • Locustville • Matunuck • Moscow • Peace Dale • Point Judith • Rockville • Saunderstown • Shannock • Shelter Harbor • Slocum • Usquepaug • Wakefield • West Kingston • White Rock • Wickford • Wood River Junction • Woodville Ghost towns Napatree point ==Politics==

Similar to other counties in Rhode Island, Washington County votes Democratic in presidential elections, having last voted Republican in 1984. ==See also==