Rhode Island (/ˌroʊd -/ ⓘ ROHD) 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 Island Sound; and shares a small maritime border with New York, east of Long Island. Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly more than 1.1 million residents as of 2024[update]. The state's population, however, has continually recorded growth in every decennial census since 1790, and it is the second-most densely populated state after New Jersey. The state takes its name from the eponymous island, though most of its land area is on the mainland. Providence is its capital and most populous city.
Rhode Island | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s): The Ocean State Little Rhody | |
| Motto: Hope | |
| Anthem: "Rhode Island's It for Me" | |
_(extra_close).svg) Location of Rhode Island within the United States | |
| Country | United States |
| Before statehood | Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |
| Admitted to the Union | May 29, 1790 (13th) |
| Capital (and largest city) | Providence |
| Largest county or equivalent | Providence |
| Largest metro and urban areas | Greater Boston (combined) Providence (metro and urban) |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Dan McKee (D) |
| • Lieutenant Governor | Sabina Matos (D) |
| Legislature | Rhode Island General Assembly |
| • Upper house | Senate |
| • Lower house | House of Representatives |
| Judiciary | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
| U.S. senators | Jack Reed (D) Sheldon Whitehouse (D) |
| U.S. House delegation | 1: Gabe Amo (D) 2: Seth Magaziner (D) (list) |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,545 sq mi (4,001 km2) |
| • Land | 1,034 sq mi (2,678 km2) |
| • Water | 511 sq mi (1,324 km2) 33.1% |
| • Rank | 50th |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 48 mi (77 km) |
| • Width | 37 mi (60 km) |
| Elevation | 200 ft (60 m) |
| Highest elevation | 810 ft (247 m) |
| Lowest elevation (Atlantic Ocean) | 0 ft (0 m) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total |  1,112,308 |
| • Rank | 44th |
| • Density | 1,000/sq mi (388/km2) |
| • Rank | 2nd |
| • Median household income | $85,000 (2023) |
| • Income rank | 14th |
| Demonym | Rhode Islander |
| Language | |
| • Official language | De jure: None De facto: English |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| USPS abbreviation | RI |
| ISO 3166 code | US-RI |
| Traditional abbreviation | R.I. |
| Latitude | 41° 09′ N to 42° 01′ N |
| Longitude | 71° 07′ W to 71° 54′ W |
| Website | ri |
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Native Americans lived around Narragansett Bay before English settlers began arriving in the early 17th century. Rhode Island was unique among the Thirteen British Colonies in having been founded by a refugee, Roger Williams, who fled religious persecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony to establish a haven for religious liberty. He founded Providence in 1636 on land purchased from local tribes, creating the first settlement in North America with an explicitly secular government. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations subsequently became a destination for religious and political dissenters and social outcasts, earning it the moniker "Rogue's Island".
Rhode Island was the first colony to call for a Continental Congress, in 1774, and the first to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown, on May 4, 1776. After the American Revolution, during which it was heavily occupied and contested, Rhode Island became the fourth state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, on February 9, 1778. Because its citizens favored a weaker central government, it boycotted the 1787 convention that had drafted the United States Constitution, which it initially refused to ratify; it finally ratified it on May 29, 1790, the last of the original 13 states to do so.
The state was officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations since the colonial era but came to be commonly known as "Rhode Island". On November 3, 2020, the state's voters approved an amendment to the state constitution formally dropping "and Providence Plantations" from its full name. Its official nickname, found on its welcome sign, is the "Ocean State", a reference to its 400 mi (640 km) of coastline and the large bays and inlets that make up about 14% of its area.
