Portsmouth is a somewhat small coastal town (ie. on the ocean or tidally-influenced rivers) located in the state of Rhode Island. With a population of 17,149 people and three constituent neighborhoods, Portsmouth is the 21st largest community in Rhode Island.

Portsmouth is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 85.25% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Portsmouth is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Portsmouth who work in office and administrative support jobs (12.13%), sales jobs (10.66%), and management occupations (10.44%).

Also of interest is that Portsmouth has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Portsmouth is home to a number of people employed in the armed forces. When you visit or walk around Portsmouth, some of the people you will bump into will be military people In and out of uniform, jogging, shopping and generally out and about town.

In addition, Portsmouth is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates." Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

Because of many things, Portsmouth is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Portsmouth a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town's good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Portsmouth has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Portsmouth's overall crime rate is lower than average for the country.

The town is also nautical, which means that parts of Portsmouth are somewhat historic and bounded by the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and tidal rivers. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

As is often the case in a small town, Portsmouth doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Portsmouth Information and Demographics

The population of Portsmouth is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 14.96% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 42.89% of adults in Portsmouth have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Portsmouth in 2000 was $28,161, which is upper middle income relative to Rhode Island, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $112,644 for a family of four.

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

The most common language spoken in Portsmouth is English.