Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

is a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

located in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

. According to the 2020 United States Census, Rhode Island is the 8th least populous state with inhabitants and the smallest by land area spanning of land. It is divided into 39

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, including 8 cities and 31

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

, grouped into 5 historical

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

that have no municipal functions as the state has no county level of government. The entire area of the state is incorporated; all Rhode Island residents live within the borders of a city or town though some communities within towns and cities are

census-designated places A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

. Municipalities in Rhode Island can incorporate as a town or city by a special act of the state legislature and there is no minimum population requirement. Eight municipalities were re-incorporated as cities operating under a charter, while the other 31 remain as towns which perform similar services. Since Rhode Island has no county level of government, cities and towns provide services commonly performed by county governments in other states. The state's cities and towns may adopt one of four forms of government: council–manager, mayor–council, town council–town meeting, or administrator–council. The primary difference between these forms of government is how the chief executive is selected. The Council–manager system involves an elected council who exercise overall control of the local government and a chief executive termed city or town manager who is generally appointed by and responsible to the council for the administration of local policies. Council–manager systems may elect a mayor but they have no formal administrative functions with the potential exception of a degree of veto power. Mayor–council systems have a similarly elected council however the mayor is elected and yields administrative power. In the town council–

town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

system, there is no full-time chief executive. The largest municipality by population in Rhode Island is the state capital of Providence, with 190,934 residents. The smallest municipality by population is New Shoreham on

Block Island Block Island is an island of the Outer Lands coastal archipelago in New England, located approximately south of mainland Rhode Island and east of Long Island's Montauk Point. The island is coterminous with the town of New Shoreham, Rhode Isl ...

, with 1,410 year-round residents. The largest municipality by land area is

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

which spans , while Central Falls is the smallest at .

Cities and towns

File:Downtown Providence Rhode Island 2008.jpg, alt=The skyline of Providence, Downtown Providence, the capital and most populous city in Rhode Island File:Pawtuxet Neck - Cranston RI Aerial (25669074358).jpg, alt=A view over Cranston, A view over Cranston, the second most populous city in Rhode Island File:Warwick (Rhode Island, USA) -- 2006 -- 6.jpg, alt=Boats and waterfront homes in Warwick, Boats and homes in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, the third most populous city in Rhode Island File:Pawtucket City Hall RI.jpg, alt=Pawtucket city hall, The city hall of Pawtucket, the fourth most populous city in Rhode Island

Notes

References

External links

RI.gov: Complete List of all 39 Cities & Towns in Rhode Island
{{featured list 01 . .

Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Cities and towns

See also

Notes

References

External links