North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. North Kingstown is home to the birthplace of the famous American portraitist Gilbert Stuart, who was born in the village of Saunderstown. Within the town is Quonset Point, location of the former Naval Air Station Quonset Point, known for the invention of the Quonset hut, as well as the historic village of Wickford. There is a “W” in North Kingstown. Kingston is a village in South Kingstown.

History

The area was first settled by Roger Williams and Richard Smith who set up trading posts near Wickford where Smith’s Castle is today. The town of Kings Towne was founded in 1674, by the colonial government, and included the present day towns of North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Exeter, and Narragansett. In 1722, Kings Towne was split into two parts, North Kingstown and South Kingstown, with North Kingstown, having the earliest settlements, retaining the 1674 establishment date. In 1742, the town of Exeter was taken from the western part of North Kingstown.

Education

North Kingstown School Department is the municipal school district. It operates North Kingstown High School.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 26,486 people, 10,436 households, and 7,347 families residing in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 94.7% White, 1.0% African American, 0.6% American Indian/Alaska Native, 1.3% Asian, 0.5% from some other race other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population.

Of the 10,436 households, 70.4% were families, 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, and 29.6% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of householders living alone. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.02. 75.4% of households resided in owner-occupied units and 24.6% in rental units.

According to the 2017 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the town was $87,311 (adjusted to inflation), the median income for a family was $105,954, and the median income for married-couple families was $120,103.