Data Sets

State Fact Sheets: Rhode Island

• Population, Income, Education, and Employment
• Farm Characteristics
• Farm Financial Indicators
• Top Commodities, Exports, and Counties
• About the State Fact Sheets

Data updated July 2, 2008

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Population, Income, Education, and Employment

	Urban *	Total
Population
Year
1980	947,154	947,154
1990	1,003,464	1,003,464
2000	1,048,319	1,048,319
2007 (latest estimates)	1,057,832	1,057,832
More information on Rhode Island population • County-level Population Data • Rural Population and Migration Briefing Room • Contact John Cromartie, 202-694-5421.

	Urban *	Total
Income
Per-capita income (2006 dollars)
2005	37,148	37,148
2006	37,523	37,523
Percent change	1.0	1.0

Earnings per job (2006 dollars)
2005	45,518	45,518
2006	45,459	45,459
Percent change	-0.1	-0.1

Poverty rate (percent)
1979	10.3	10.3
1989	9.6	9.6
1999	11.9	11.9
2005 (latest model-based estimates)	11.9	11.9
More information on Rhode Island poverty rates • County-level Poverty Data • Rural Income, Poverty, and Welfare Briefing Room • See important notes about decennial and model-based intercensal poverty estimates • Contact Robert Gibbs, 202-694-5423

	Urban *	Total
Education (Persons 25 and older)
Percent not completing high school
1980	38.9	38.9
1990	28.0	28.0
2000	22.0	22.0

Percent completing high school only
1980	32.8	32.8
1990	29.5	29.5
2000	27.8	27.8

Percent completing some college
1980	12.9	12.9
1990	21.3	21.3
2000	24.6	24.6

Percent completing college
1980	15.4	15.4
1990	21.3	21.3
2000	25.6	25.6
More information on Rhode Island education • County-level Education Data • Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room • Contact Robert Gibbs, 202-694-5423

	Urban *	Total
Employment
Total number of jobs
2005	611,346	611,346
2006	619,991	619,991

Unemployment rate (percent)
2006	5.1	5.1
2007	5.0	5.0
More information on Rhode Island unemployment rates • County-level Unemployment and Median Household Income Data • Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room • Contact Lorin Kusmin, 202-694-5429

Percent employment change
2004-2005	1.6	1.6
2005-2006	1.7	1.7
2006-2007	0.4	0.4

Percent of 2002 employment in farm and farm-related jobs
Total	12.6	12.6
Production	0.2	0.2
Farm inputs	0.0	0.0
Processing & marketing	1.1	1.1
Wholesale & retail trade	10.5	10.5
More information on farm employment • Farm and Farm-Related Employment data • Contact Tim Parker, 202-694-5435

* Urban and rural (metro and nonmetro) defintions are based on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) June 2003 classification. See Measuring Rurality: New Definitions in 2003 for more information.

More information on socioeconomic conditions • Rural Emphasis Page • Contact Tim Parker, 202-694-5435.

Farm Characteristics

	1992	1997	2002
1992, 1997 and 2002 Census of Agriculture

Total land area (million acres)	0.67	0.67	0.67
Total farmland (million acres)	0.05	0.07	0.06
Percent of total land area	7.4	9.7	9.2

Cropland (million acres)	0.02	0.03	0.02
Percent of total farmland	49.2	45.7	38.4
Percent in pasture	15.5	20.6	12.5
Percent irrigated	12.1	10.9	16.8

Harvested Cropland (million acres)	0.02	0.02	0.02

Woodland (million acres)	0.02	0.02	0.02
Percent of total farmland	35.9	33.3	40.8
Percent in pasture	13.0	9.5	8.0

Pastureland (million acres)	0.00	0.00	0.01
Percent of total farmland	3.8	4.9	8.3

Land in house lots, ponds, roads, wasteland, etc. (million acres)	0.01	0.01	0.01
Percent of total farmland	11.1	16.0	12.5

Conservation practices
Farmland in conservation or wetlands reserve programs (million acres)	0.00	0.00	0.00
Percent of total farmland	0.9	0.0	0.1

Average farm size (acres)	76	65	71

Farms by size (percent)
1 to 99 acres	76.1	81.5	78.2
100 to 499 acres	22.0	17.0	20.5
500 to 999 acres	1.5	1.3	0.7
1000 to 1,999 acres	0.3	0.1	0.5
2,000 or more acres	0.0	0.1	0.1

Farms by sales (percent)
Less than $9,999	57.8	60.1	57.7
$10,000 to $49,999	23.0	22.0	22.7
$50,000 to $99,999	7.6	7.6	6.5
$100,000 to $499,999	8.8	8.6	9.8
More than $500,000	3.1	1.9	3.3

Tenure of farmers
Full owner (farms)	421	709	610
Percent of total	64.9	71.3	71.1

Part owner (farms)	162	204	170
Percent of total	25.0	20.5	19.8

Tenant owner (farms)	66	81	78
Percent of total	10.2	8.1	9.1

Farm organization
Individuals/family, sole proprietorship (farms)	529	789	699
Percent of total	81.5	79.4	81.5

Family-held corporations (farms)	72	118	86
Percent of total	11.1	11.9	10.0

Partnerships (farms)	42	66	52
Percent of total	6.5	6.6	6.1

Non-family corporations (farms)	1	9	4
Percent of total	0.2	0.9	0.5

Others - cooperative, estate or trust, institutional, etc. (farms)	5	12	17
Percent of total	0.8	1.2	2.0

Characteristics of principal farm operators
Average operator age (years)	53.4	54.0	54.3
Percent with farming as their primary occupation	51.3	47.0	51.5
Men (persons)	559	834	716
Women (persons)	90	160	142

More information on farm characteristics • Census of Agriculture • Contact NASS Customer Service, 1-800-727-9540. Data from the 1992 Census of Agriculture is not adjusted for coverage. See Coverage Adjustment from NASS.

Farm Financial Indicators

	2005	2006
Farm income and value added data

Number of farms	850	850

	Thousands $
Final crop output	53,641	55,509
+ Final animal output	9,510	10,113
+ Services and forestry	16,527	15,532
= Final agricultural sector output	79,678	81,154

- Intermediate consumption outlays	25,783	26,479
+ Net government transactions	554	-2,123
= Gross value added	54,448	52,552

- Capital consumption	8,958	9,463

= Net value added	45,490	43,089

- Factor payments	16,530	17,054
Employee compensation (total hired labor)	12,922	13,287
Net rent received by nonoperator landlords	605	359
Real estate and nonreal estate interest	3,003	3,408

= Net farm income	28,960	26,035

More information on farm income • Farm Income Data • Farm Income and Costs Briefing Room • Contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.

Farm balance sheet

• Estimation of State-level Balance Sheets has been suspended. See the Farm Balance Sheet data page for more information.

Top Commodities, Exports, and Counties

	Value of receipts thousand $	Percent of state total farm receipts	Percent of US value
Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2006
1. Greenhouse/nursery	43,965	67.0	0.3
2. Dairy products	2,768	4.2	0.0
3. Corn, sweet	1,872	2.9	0.2
4. Aquaculture	1,365	2.1	0.1
5. Potatoes	1,168	1.8	0.0

All commodities	65,640		0.0

More information on Rhode Island's top agriculture commodities • Leading commodities for cash receipts in Excel • Contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.

	Rank among states	Value million $
Top 5 agriculture exports, estimates, FY 2007
1. Other	42	9.7
2. Seeds	44	1.5
3. Vegetables and preparations	42	0.6
4. Live animals and meat	49	0.2
5. Feeds and fodders	49	0.1

Overall rank	49	12.1

More information on agricultural exports • State Export Data • Agricultural Trade Briefing Room • Contact Nora Brooks, 202-694-5211.

	Percent of state total receipts	Million $
Top 5 counties in agricultural sales 2002
1. Washington County	38.1	21.1
2. Newport County	27.2	15.1
3. Providence County	21.3	11.8
4. Kent County	6.8	3.8
5. Bristol County	6.7	3.7

State total		55.5

More information on agricultural sales • Census of Agriculture • Contact NASS Customer Service, 1-800-727-9540.

Data Sources

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, county data, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Regional Economic Information System, April 2006, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce.
1980, 1990, and 2000 Census of Population, Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Farm Income and Costs Briefing Room, Economic Research Service, USDA.
Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS), Economic Research Service, USDA.
Census of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

Prepared by Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, DC.

For more information, contact: Tim Parker

Web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov

Updated date: July 2, 2008