3.30.2001

How the Census numbers add up in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts

PROVIDENCE:
Minorities now make up majority in capital city
The new Census numbers that show that "minorities" now make up the majority of the Providence population comes as no surprise to the city's elected officials.
• Up and down Broad Street, Latino community thrives
• Providence struggles with bilingualism

EAST PROVIDENCE:
E. Providence population dips 3.3%
Although Rhode Island's population has grown by 4.5 percent over the last decade, East Providence lost population, according to Census data released yesterday.

WEST BAY:
Figures show what many already know: West Bay's growing
Led by West Greenwich, which almost doubled in population, every community in the West Bay region gained population in the last decade.

EAST BAY:
Population loss pinned on Navy moves
Middletown and Newport had the greatest proportional population declines in the state over the past 10 years, according to newly released Census information. A decrease in the Navy's presence contributed significantly to the decline, local officials said.

NORTHWEST:
Census shows slowest area growth in 3 decades
Rhode Island's Northwestern towns have more people today than 10 years ago, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau yesterday, but the increase lags slightly behind statewide growth and it is the lowest percentage increase for the area's towns in 30 years.

BLACKSTONE VALLEY:
Blackstone Valley population climbs, except in one city
Between 1990 and last year, the Blackstone Valley's population grew in the middle and got thinner at the top, as the number of residents of Lincoln and Cumberland increased while, to the north, Woonsocket's numbers dwindled, according to figures released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

SOUTH COUNTY:
Census figures reflect growth: But consensus is, numbers are low
According to new census data, Washington County attracted more than 13,500 people during the last decade -- the equivalent of adding a town the size of East Greenwich to the area.
• Chariho High endures cramming, dilapidation
• A younger, whiter, more populous South County

MASSACHUSETTS:
Local, federal tallies don't jibe
A new population count conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau has rekindled a debate about the number of people who live here. The federal number -- 15,901 -- clashes with the figure that the town's Board of Registrars deemed "official" last summer: 17,349.

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