Welcome to Providence ...
The coastal city of Providence is located in Providence County<1>. It is the County Seat and the capital of Rhode Island.
When the people of Providence refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Providentian<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Providence has a population of 179,323 people<3> (see below for details).
Providence is 30 feet [9 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Providence lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Providence lies within the (401) area code.
The community of Providence was established in 1636.
Websites for Providence ...
Official Website: www.providenceri.com/
Chamber of Commerce: www.provchamber.com/
Junior League: www.jlri.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Providence had an population of 179,323 people. This is an increase of 0.72% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 3.29% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Providence had a population of 178,042 people (which is 28.41% of the total population of Providence County). This makes Providence the county's most populous community.
The population of Providence represents 16.92% of the population of Rhode Island (which has 1,052,567 people), making it the state's most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 178,042 people, the population of Providence increased 2.55% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 173,618 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Providence.
Communities Also Named Providence ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 76 communities that are also named Providence - they are located in Alabama (8), Arizona, Arkansas (2), California (2), Florida (3), Georgia (2), Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (2), Kentucky (7), Louisiana, Maryland (4), Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi (3), Missouri (2), North Carolina (6), Ohio (4), Ontario, Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (4), Tennessee (7), Texas (5), Utah, Virginia (3), Washington and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Providence.
Communities near Providence ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Providence.
- Fall River
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Fall River lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<5> to the southeast of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89,792 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Fall River
- Warwick
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
- Warwick lies 8 miles [12.9 km]<5> to the south of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 81,189 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Warwick
- Taunton
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taunton
- Taunton lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<5> to the east of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 57,675 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Taunton
- Attleboro
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attleboro
- Attleboro lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the northeast of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 45,444 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Attleboro
- Woonsocket
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woonsocket
- Woonsocket lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<5> to the northwest of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,545 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Woonsocket
- Cumberland
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Cumberland lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<5> to the north of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35,207 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Cumberland
- Coventry
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
- Coventry lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<5> to the southwest of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,931 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Coventry
- Franklin
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Franklin lies 18 miles [29 km]<5> to the north of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,711 people
- Jump to Google Maps centered on Franklin
- North Attleboro
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Attleboro
- North Attleboro lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<5> to the north of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 29,470 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Attleboro have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on North Attleboro
- West Warwick
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Warwick
- West Warwick lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<5> to the southwest of Providence.
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,967 people
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Warwick have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Google Maps centered on West Warwick
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Providence. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Providence.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Providence. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Providence.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Providence. Our list includes 363 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Providence.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Providence ...
Looking for more information about Providence? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Providence, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Providence.
Adding Providence to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Providence in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention that we've found for Providence was the U.S. Post Offices (1803).
We also found Providence in the Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details about the above, see References and Mentions for Providence.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Providence: www.providenceri.com/
The official website for State of Rhode Island: https://www.ri.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of the state's counties, including Providence, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Providence refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Providence may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Providence. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Providence - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Providence) to Point B.If you need the driving distance (or directions), we recommend that you use one of the Mapping Services listed on our Map Page for Providence. Since we usually use Google Maps, we've provided the following link for your convenience: Google Map and Driving Directions starting from ProvidenceOur distance measurements begin at a specific point in Providence. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8241, Longitude: -71.4134 |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |