PROVIDENCE -- Many residents of Rhode Island's cities fell behind
economically during the boom of the 1990s, according to the results of
the 2000 census. Median household incomes generally rose only in the
leafier suburbs and the communities along the southern coast.
This census snapshot of the state, released last week, is a picture of
teetering cities and blossoming suburbs and rural communities. Rhode
Island's storied manufacturing centers -- which fueled the state's
economy from the beginning of the 19th century through World War II --
are now the sick communities of the 21st century.
Run your finger down a map of northern Rhode Island. From Woonsocket to
Central Falls to Pawtucket, the Blackstone Valley's old mill communities
no longer generate the kinds of factory jobs that paid good wages. And
in the last 10 years the median household income of these cities'
residents -- who are not generally highly educated -- has dropped.
Skip down to Providence. Parts of this city have well-educated
residents, but a large exodus of middle-class residents and an influx of
immigrants, many non-English-speaking, have left the capital city with
many more poor children now than 10 years ago. Despite the affluent East
Side and the glitzy new downtown, Providence's inflation-adjusted median
household income slipped during the 1990s by 7 percent.
Among the distressing social indicators: During the decade of the
Internet, low unemployment, and a rising stock market, the number of
Rhode Island children living below the poverty line increased by more
than 30 percent. And according to Rhode Island Kids Count, the
child-advocacy organization, more than 40 percent of the children in
Providence and Central Falls are living in poverty.
Another once-thriving mill community, West Warwick, in the Pawtuxet
Valley, has also lost median household income -- by an
inflation-adjusted 4 percent.
Two other traditional industrial centers, Bristol and Warren, also saw
factory jobs leave, although their median household incomes merely
stagnated.
Meanwhile, economic stagnation also characterized the old suburbs of
Providence: East Providence, North Providence, Cranston, and Warwick,
which all have large numbers of elderly residents.
"This is kind of depressing," says Leonard Lardaro, a University of
Rhode Island economist who studies the economy of this state.
"Everybody thought that an economy in the '90s that created more jobs
would help everybody. But that clearly didn't happen."
NEWPORT has a different story. A major maritime city ever since the
Union Jack flew over Rhode Island, Newport in the 20th century lost
stature with the departure of much of its naval presence. But in the
last 20 years it has remade itself as a tourist destination, to the
extent that it is the one Rhode Island city that during the '90s saw its
median household income rise.
The city also has a highly educated population. More than 40 percent of
adult Newporters hold at least a bachelor's degree -- a proportion that
dwarfs all but those in Rhode Island's richest suburbs.
TO VIEW the state's "winners," move down the Rhode Island map toward the
Atlantic coast, or over to the woodsy communities west of the older
suburbs, or to such Bay-side communities as Barrington and East
Greenwich -- two magnets since the '50s for those who have done well.
The farming communities of Exeter, West Greenwich, Foster, and Richmond
have all lately attracted new high-income residents, sending the median
incomes soaring. The oceanside communities of Jamestown, Charlestown,
South Kingstown, North Kingstown and Middletown have also seen incomes
rise by healthy margins.
"I have to assume that a lot of people who are doing well left the older
cities for other communities," says Governor Almond, who grew up in
Central Falls.
He goes on: "We know there is a strong connection between your
educational level and economic success." And, he says, "a lot of those
who improved themselves went to state schools -- which is why it is so
important that we keep putting resources into CCRI, RIC, and URI," the
state's three public institutions of higher learning: the Community
College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the University of
Rhode Island.
Rhode Islanders are indeed better educated than ever, according to the
census. The number of residents without a high-school diploma has
plummeted, while the number of those with a college education or more
has jumped to its highest ever: 26 percent of the population 25 years or
older.
And nearly 70,000 of the some million Rhode Islanders now hold graduate
or professional degrees -- a 31-percent increase since 1990.
The Rhode Island experience resembles what has happened next door in
Massachusetts, where suburban communities are generally doing well,
while the traditional industrial cities are not. Springfield,
Pittsfield, Worcester, New Bedford, and Fall River all witnessed
declines in median household income during the 1990s.
THE INCOME and education data released last week come from the 2000
census's long form, which went to about one in six U.S. households; it
gleaned many more details than the shorter 2000 census form (whose
results were released last year).
The Journal has analyzed these data, and compared them with the data
from the 1990 census. Income figures for the 1990 and 2000 censuses come
from the years 1989 and 1999, respectively. The Journal adjusted the
1989 income figures to 1999 dollars, to compare the real buying power of
dollars in the two years.
The Journal has categorized communities by a system often used by
planners.
The information thus far released from the 2000 long form covers only 29
states, so comparisons between Rhode Island and national averages are
not yet available. But the long-form figures from the five other New
England states are in, so comparisons within the region can be made.
One striking finding: Despite big gains in the educational levels of
Rhode Islanders, the state still lags behind all the other New England
states except Maine in the proportion of the population with a
bachelor's degree or higher.
In median household income, Rhode Island regionally ranks fourth: behind
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and ahead of Vermont and
Maine.
These are the New England median household incomes: $53,935 in
Connecticut, $50,502 in Massachusetts, $49,467 in New Hampshire, $42,090
in Rhode Island, $40,856 in Vermont, and $37,240 in Maine.
Rhode Island has New England's highest proportion of people living below
the federal poverty level. This is defined as an annual income of
$15,020 for a family of three and $18,100 for a family of four.
About 9 percent of Rhode Islanders fall into this category. Elsewhere in
New England, the population below the poverty line is about 8 percent in
Maine, about 7 percent in Massachusetts, about 6 percent in Connecticut
and Vermont, and about 4 percent in New Hampshire.
Rhode Island also has the region's highest concentration of people who
do not speak English at home -- some 20 percent of the population. This
compares with about 19 percent in Massachusetts, 18 percent in
Connecticut, 8 percent in New Hampshire and Maine, and 6 percent in
Vermont.
Of the high proportion of foreign-born immigrants in Rhode Island, URI
economist Lardaro notes that many of them "need education and job
training, so they can get into the work force."
PUNCTURING one of Rhode Island's great talk-show myths, the census
figures show that the state does not have many more government employees
than does the rest of New England. Maine and Vermont have a slightly
higher percentage of residents holding jobs in federal, state, or local
government, and Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut are all
within half a percentage point on this measure. New Hampshire has the
region's lowest proportion of residents employed by government.
Only about 14 percent of employed Rhode Islanders work in the
government, with 81 percent of employed Rhode Islanders working in the
private sector, and the rest self-employed.
"I don't why this government-jobs stereotype persists," says economist
Lardaro. "It is one of those things everybody thinks is true but clearly
isn't."
With computer assistance from Bruce Landis.
Look back at previous Journal reports on The New Rhode Island: Census
2000, and find local statistics by community at:
http://projo.com/news/census/
