About Little Compton

Little Compton is a very small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Rhode Island. With a population of 3,593 people and just one neighborhood, Little Compton is the 38th largest community in Rhode Island.

Little Compton is neither predominently blue-collar or white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Little Compton is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Little Compton who work in teaching (10.89%), management occupations (9.57%), and office and administrative support jobs (9.57%).

Little Compton is a major vacation destination. Much of the town's population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependant on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Little Compton's population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live.

In addition, Little Compton is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates," which are people who are not only wealthy and employed in professional occupations, but highly educated to boot. Urban sophisticates have urbane tastes - whether they reside in a big or small city, a suburb, or a little town. Urban sophisticates support bookstores, quality clothing stores, enjoy luxury travel, and in big cities, they are truly the patrons of the arts, attending and supporting institutions such as opera, symphony, ballet, and theatre.

Because of many things, Little Compton is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Little Compton really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Little Compton perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic night life, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Little Compton are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

Little Compton is very much a car-oriented town. This is because the population of Little Compton isn't large enough or dense enough to support an extensive public transit system. It has a lot of rural roads, and the distance between houses can be quite large, which together tends to discourage walking and bicycling to work. 97.24% of residents commute to work in their own car (and the drive is typically to a job out of town). People also tend to drive out of town for other services as well, such as shopping, doctors appointments, and more.

Even though Little Compton is a smaller town, it has many people who hop on public transportation - mostly taxis - for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.

Little Compton Information and Demographics

If knowledge is power, Little Compton is a pretty powerful place. 45.01% of the adults in Little Compton have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 14.96% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Little Compton in 2000 was $32,513, which is wealthy relative to Rhode Island and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $130,052 for a family of four.

The people who call Little Compton home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Little Compton is White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Little Compton include English, Irish, Portuguese, French, Italian, French Canadian, Polish, and German.

The most common language spoken in Little Compton is English.