Kids Count Survey: Newport's Child Population Down, Median Income Up

Newport  population of children under the age of 18 dropped by roughly the same percentage as the state overall, the advocacy group _RI Kids Count _announced in its 2012 RI Kids Count Factbook, released this morning at an event in Warwick.

According to the statewide survey, Newport’s under-18 population fell from 5,199 in 2000 to 4,083 in 2010, a reduction of about 12.5 percent. The state's total childhood population fell by about 9 percent.

Only two other states had decreases in the population of children over that time, the group said in a press release.

Newport’s median family income rose more than $20,000 from 2000 to 2010, from $56,431 to $77,639. Rhode Island’s median income only rose about $1,000 to $67,239.

Newport’s children living in poverty percentage also lowered from 24.4 percent in 2000 to 14.4 percent in 2010, lower than the 16.7 percent state average, which remained about the same.

“Children live in poverty in every Rhode Island community,” Kids Count Executive Director Elizabeth Burke Bryant said in a statement. “However, these communities warrant special attention since more children live in poverty in these four core cities, than in the rest of Rhode Island.”

The RI Kids Count survey reviewed 2010 census data for all 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island, and also found that about 66 percent of all children considered to be living in poverty — defined as annual household income of $18,123 for a family of three with two children — were located in four communities: Woonsocket, Central Falls, Pawtucket, and Providence.