Providence metropolitan area

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Providence Metropolitan Area
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Providence–Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Providence Rhode Island skyline 2017.jpg
The skyline of Providence, Rhode Island
Providence metropolitan area
Map of Greater Providence–Warwick, RI–MA MSA
Country Flag of United States.svg United States
State Flag of Rhode Island.svg Rhode Island
Flag of Massachusetts.svg Massachusetts
Largest city Providence, RI
Other cities - New Bedford, MA
 - Fall River, MA
 - Warwick, RI
 - Pawtucket, RI
 - Cranston, RI
Area
 • Total1,635.76 sq mi (4,236.6 km2)
Highest elevation
812 ft (247.5 m)
Lowest elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Population
 (2005 est.)
 • Total1,612,989
 • Rank 38th in the U.S.
 • Density1,006.21/sq mi (380.78/km2)
GDP
[1]
 • MSA$105.561 billion (2022)
Time zone UTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)

The Providence metropolitan area (Providence MSA) is a region extending into eight counties in two states. Its core is in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts; [2] [3] its largest city is Providence, Rhode Island. With an estimated population of 1,622,520, exceeding that of Rhode Island by slightly over 60%, the Providence MSA is the 38th largest metropolitan area in the United States. [4] [5] The MSA covers all of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts, with an average population density of 2300 per mi2 (888 per km2). [6] [7] [8]

Contents

The region's Gross Metropolitan Product is the country's 42nd largest at $64.7 billion, just above the Gross State Product of the entire state of Hawaii. [9] Since 2006, the Providence metropolitan area has been officially included in the Greater Boston Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the sixth-largest CSA in the country, with over eight million residents. [4]

Boundaries

Metropolitan statistical area

The Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area (defined at the county level by the US Census Bureau) contains all five counties in Rhode Island and one county in Massachusetts, namely:

Its principal cities are:

NECTA

The Providence-based NECTA (defined at the municipal level by the Office of Management and Budget) does not include the separate New Bedford NECTA, but they are unified in a Combined NECTA. [10]

The Providence-Fall River-Warwick RI-MA NECTA includes:

Transportation

Tracks leading to Providence Station Providence station tracks.jpg
Tracks leading to Providence Station

Rail

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates commuter rail in the region, with the Providence branch of the Providence/Stoughton Line connecting the metropolitan area to Boston. Existing Providence line stations in Providence, South Attleboro, and Attleboro were supplemented by an extension to T.F. Green airport in Warwick and Wickford Junction in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, completed in 2012. A new Pawtucket/Central Falls station on the Providence Line was opened to the public in January 2023.

An extension of the Stoughton branch to Fall River and New Bedford is also planned as part of the South Coast Rail project. Phase I is expected to be completed in 2024, with trains running via the current Middleborough/Lakeville Line and stops at Freetown, Fall River, and in New Bedford at both Church Street and downtown New Bedford. Full completion of Phase II of the project, via the Stoughton branch, is expected by 2030, with a new seasonal stop opening on Fall River's waterfront at Battleship Cove at that time.

Amtrak provides regional rail service over the Northeast Corridor to the Providence and Kingston train stations. Northeast Regional trains stop at both stations, while Acela service is available in Providence.

Bus transit

Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), which has its hub in downtown Providence, manages local bus transit for the state, serving 35 out of 39 Rhode Island communities as well as South Attleboro and Seekonk, Massachusetts. RIPTA operates 55 bus lines as well as Flex service and paratransit service. [11] Ferry services link Block Island, Prudence Island, and Hog Island to the Rhode Island mainland. Additionally, there is a seasonal ferry service between Providence and Newport from late May to mid-October. Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) provides local bus service in the Massachusetts locales of Fall River and New Bedford. The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) serves much of the Massachusetts portion of the metropolitan area, and areas eastward to the South Shore.

Air transport

T. F. Green Airport in Warwick Skywalk PVD - To Rental Cars (38830799634).jpg
T. F. Green Airport in Warwick

The major airport is T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, (though its airport code is PVD) though Logan International Airport in Boston is also used. The MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line passes through T.F. Green and connects the airport to Providence and Boston, offering additional airport flexibility in the Greater Boston Area.

Roads

Two interstates connect major population centers in the region: 95, which runs diagonally across Rhode Island and connecting with Boston and New York City, and 195, which runs east from Providence into Fall River and New Bedford. The auxiliary interstate 295 provides a bypass around Providence.

Additional highways serving the area include Route 146 (connecting Providence and Worcester), Route 138 (serving Newport), Route 24 (connecting Fall River and Newport with the Boston area), Route 4 (serving the Wickford area), Route 99 (connecting Route 146 with Woonsocket) and Route 140 (connecting Route 24 with New Bedford).

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1900 623,832—
1910 794,90627.4%
1920 895,57712.7%
1930 981,0859.5%
1940 998,7941.8%
1950 1,063,3846.5%
1960 1,257,97618.3%
1970 1,391,02610.6%
1980 1,421,7952.2%
1990 1,509,7896.2%
2000 1,582,9974.8%
2010 1,600,8521.1%
2020 1,676,5794.7%
2022 (est.)1,673,802−0.2%
data source: [5] [12] [13]

Significant Lusophone populations exist across the region, particularly the area from East Providence to New Bedford. The two Bristol counties (RI and MA) are the only counties in the U.S. in which Portuguese-Americans are the largest ancestry group. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol County, Massachusetts</span> County in Massachusetts, United States

Bristol County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 579,200. The shire town is Taunton. Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, others by the county, and others by local towns and cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall River, Massachusetts</span> City in Massachusetts

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. It abuts the Rhode Island state line with Tiverton, RI to its south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rehoboth, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Rehoboth is a historic town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1643, Rehoboth is one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. The population was 12,502 at the 2020 census. Rehoboth is a mostly rural community with many historic sites, including 53 historic cemeteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seekonk, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Seekonk is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Massachusetts border with Rhode Island. It was incorporated in 1812 from the western half of Rehoboth. The population was 15,531 at the 2020 census. In 1862, under a U.S. Supreme Court decision resolving a longstanding border dispute between Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a portion of Tiverton, Rhode Island was awarded to Massachusetts to become part of Fall River, while two-thirds of Seekonk was awarded to Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westport, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Westport is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,339 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warwick, Rhode Island</span> City in Rhode Island, United States

Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately 12 miles (19 km) south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, 63 miles (101 km) southwest of Boston, Massachusetts, and 171 miles (275 km) northeast of New York City.

The Narragansett Council of Scouting America serves all of the state of Rhode Island and some of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Its several camps include Camp Yawgoog, Champlin Scout Reservation, and Camp Norse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Boston</span> Combined Statistical Area in the US

Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas. The most stringent definition of the region, used by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, consists of most of the eastern third of mainland Massachusetts, excluding the Merrimack Valley and most of Southeastern Massachusetts, though most definitions include much of these areas and portions of southern New Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhode Island Route 37</span> State highway in Rhode Island, US

Route 37 is a state highway running 3.47 miles (5.58 km) in Providence County and Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. A freeway for its entire length, it serves the cities of Cranston and Warwick and is also a major east–west freeway in the Providence metropolitan area, linking T. F. Green Airport with Interstate 295. The western terminus of Route 37 is an at-grade intersection with Natick Avenue in Cranston. The freeway has numbered interchanges with I-295, Rhode Island Route 2, Pontiac Avenue, and I-95 before terminating at a trumpet interchange with U.S. Route 1 in Warwick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Attleboro station</span> Railway station in Attleboro, Massachusetts, US

South Attleboro station is an MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line station in Attleboro, Massachusetts. It is located under Newport Avenue in the South Attleboro neighborhood, just north of the Rhode Island border. The station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Northeast Corridor, formerly connected by a footbridge to a park-and-ride lot; only the north platform is in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston and Providence Railroad</span> Former railroad company operating in Massachusetts and Rhode Island

The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the first rail lines in the United States - with a more direct route into Providence built in 1847. Branches were built to Dedham in 1834, Stoughton in 1845, and North Attleboro in 1871. It was acquired by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which in turn was leased by the New Haven Railroad in 1893. The line became the New Haven's primary mainline to Boston; it was realigned in Boston in 1899 during the construction of South Station, and in Pawtucket and Central Falls in 1916 for grade crossing elimination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Massachusetts</span>

Massachusetts is the seventh-smallest state in the United States with an area of 10,555 square miles (27,340 km2). It is bordered to the north by New Hampshire and Vermont, to the west by New York, to the south by Connecticut and Rhode Island, and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Maine. Massachusetts is the most populous New England state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhode Island Public Transit Authority</span> Public transport agency in Rhode Island, US

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) provides public transportation, primarily buses, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The main hub of the RIPTA system is Kennedy Plaza, a large bus terminal in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Average daily ridership as of the second quarter of 2024 is 43,400. The agency operates 59 fixed-route bus routes and 7 demand-responsive routes, together serving 37 out of 39 Rhode Island municipalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Coast (Massachusetts)</span> Region of southeastern Massachusetts

The South Coast of Massachusetts is the region of southeastern Massachusetts consisting of the southern part of Bristol and Plymouth counties, bordering Buzzards Bay, and includes the cities of Fall River, New Bedford, the southeastern tip of East Taunton and nearby towns. The Rhode Island towns of Tiverton and Little Compton, located in Newport County, are often included within the South Coast designation due to regional similarities with adjacent communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence/Stoughton Line</span> Line of the Boston MBTA Commuter Rail system

The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Providence station or Wickford Junction station in Rhode Island, while the Stoughton Branch splits at Canton Junction and terminates at Stoughton. It is the longest MBTA Commuter Rail line, and the only one that operates outside Massachusetts. The line is the busiest on the MBTA Commuter Rail system, with 17,648 daily boardings in an October 2022 count.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Route 152 (Rhode Island–Massachusetts)</span> Highway in Rhode Island and Massachusetts

Route 152 is a state highway in the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The highway begins at U.S. Route 1A and Route 114 in East Providence, Rhode Island. After crossing into Massachusetts, Route 152 runs 14.8821 miles (23.9504 km) through Seekonk, Attleboro, and North Attleboro to US 1 in Plainville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pawtucket/Central Falls station</span> Railway station in Rhode Island, US

Pawtucket/Central Falls station is a commuter rail station in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It opened for MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line service on January 23, 2023. The station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Northeast Corridor. It is also a hub for RIPTA local bus service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence, Rhode Island</span> Capital city of Rhode Island, US

Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, it is one of the oldest cities in New England, founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers. The city developed as a busy port, as it is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norton, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Norton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, and contains the villages of Norton Center and Chartley. The population was 19,202 at the 2020 census. Home of Wheaton College, Norton hosted the Dell Technologies Championship, a tournament of the PGA Tour held annually on the Labor Day holiday weekend at the TPC Boston golf club until 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 895 (Rhode Island–Massachusetts)</span> Former proposed Interstate Highway in Rhode Island and Massachusetts

Interstate 895 was a proposed Interstate Highway in Rhode Island and Massachusetts that would have supplemented Interstate 295 to create a full beltway around Providence.

References

  1. ↑ "Total Gross Domestic Product for Providence-Warwick, RI-MA (MSA)". Federal Reserve Economic Data . Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
  2. ↑ "2020 Census Urban Areas of the United States and Puerto Rico" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Federal Register/Vol. 75, No. 123/Monday, June 28, 2010/Notices" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Update of Statistical area Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. pp. 52, 108, 150. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2007. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
  5. 1 2 "Providence Metropolitan Area:2000–2005 Population & Migration". demographia.com. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
  6. ↑ "July 1, 2005 Population Estimates". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
  7. ↑ Wendell Cox. "Providence: Least Sprawling Metropolitan Area: Colorado Springs Sprawls less than Portland" (PDF). publicpurpose.com. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
  8. ↑ "May 2006 OEC Metropolitan Statistical Area definitions". stats.bls.gov. Retrieved June 9, 2007.
  9. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) pages 15 and 40
  10. ↑ "Current Lists of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas and Definitions". Archived from the original on May 8, 2012.
  11. ↑ "About". RIPTA. Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  12. ↑ DIvision, US Census Bureau Systems Support. "Ranking Tables for Metropolitan Areas (PHC-T-3)". www.census.gov.
  13. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019". United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Bristol County, Massachusetts – Select a Race, Ethnic, or Ancestry Group – American FactFinder". Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2008.
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