The county economy from official statistics, with source and year on every table.
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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Kent County is a county of Rhode Island with 171,456 residents. Its economy produced $12,418 million in 2024 (ranked #2 of 5 counties) and had 75,845 jobs with an average annual pay of $63,016 (#3 for pay). The unemployment rate was 2.5% in 2026M09. It is part of the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metropolitan area (central county).
Kent County produced about $12,418 million of goods and services in 2024, which is 15.4% of the combined output of the 5 counties of Rhode Island that BEA reports (about 15.6% of the state's population lives here), and ranks it 2nd of 5 on that measure. Per resident that is $72,429, about the same as the state average; the average for all counties of the state taken together is $72,954. In current dollars output grew 3.6% from 2023 to 2024, before adjusting for inflation.
BLS counts 75,845 jobs located in Kent County on average in 2024, spread over 6,935 employer sites (about 11 jobs per site). That is 0.44 jobs for every resident, close to the 0.44 of the typical county in Rhode Island, which tells you whether the county is a place people mostly commute to for work or a place they commute from. The average annual pay per job was $63,016, 6% below the average of all counties in the state ($63,016 against $66,834). Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, so it is pulled up by high earners and counts part-time jobs as whole jobs; it is not the pay of a typical worker. The number of jobs rose 0.5% from 2023 to 2024.
The three largest private industries are health care and social assistance (21.1% of private jobs, $67,004 a year on average), retail trade (16.1% of private jobs, $42,427 a year on average), accommodation and food services (12.1% of private jobs, $28,352 a year on average). Together they hold 49.3% of private-sector jobs. Among industries with at least 3% of jobs, the best paying is finance and insurance at $100,621 a year, followed by professional and technical services ($100,089). The county is specialised in an industry: retail trade (1.4 times the US share, 11,002 jobs). A location quotient above 1 means an industry employs a larger share of workers here than in the whole country, so these are the industries where local employers compete hardest for skills. Several of the biggest employers pay well below the county average: retail trade ($42,427), accommodation and food services ($28,352). Jobs there are plentiful but the pay is lower than the headline average suggests.
In 2026M09 the unemployment rate in Kent County was 2.5%, 15% below the average of the state's counties (2.5% against 2.9%). The labour force (people working or looking for work) numbered 94,170. Over the last 12 months it ranged from 2.5% (2026M09) to 5.2% (2026M02); the latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. These county rates are not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month across years.
The median household income was $94,345 (ACS 2020–2024), 7% above the state median ($94,345 against $87,796). The guide covers 2 cities with this as the main county: Warwick, Greene. Open any of them for rent, home values, commuting and climate.
Counties close to Kent County in output are Providence County, Washington County, Newport County. Compare their jobs, pay and unemployment on their own pages.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ | Rank among the 5 counties of Rhode Island ⇅ |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 171,456 | 2 of 5 |
| GDP 2024 | $12,418 million | 2 of 5 |
| GDP per resident | $72,429 | 3 of 5 |
| Jobs (QCEW 2024) | 75,845 | 2 of 5 |
| Average annual pay | $63,016 | 3 of 5 |
| Job change vs 2023 | +0.5% | 5 of 5 |
| Unemployment rate (lower is better) | 2.5% | 4 of 5 |
| Median household income | $94,345 | 4 of 5 |
Federal jobs in Rhode Island (98) →All cities of Rhode IslandState guide: Rhode Island
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
Cities of this guide whose main county is Kent County.
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 14,444 | 21.1% | $67,004 | 1.33 |
| Retail trade | 11,002 | 16.1% | $42,427 | 1.45 |
| Accommodation and food services | 8,311 | 12.1% | $28,352 | 1.21 |
| Manufacturing | 5,555 | 8.1% | $85,166 | 0.89 |
| Professional and technical services | 4,474 | 6.5% | $100,089 | 0.85 |
| Administrative and waste services | 3,838 | 5.6% | $50,390 | 0.86 |
| Construction | 3,485 | 5.1% | $75,935 | 0.88 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 3,291 | 4.8% | $53,248 | 1.02 |
| Wholesale trade | 2,758 | 4.0% | $84,005 | 0.92 |
| Finance and insurance | 2,707 | 4.0% | $100,621 | 0.88 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 2,644 | 3.9% | $42,785 | 1.16 |
| Educational services | 1,462 | 2.1% | $47,565 | 0.93 |
| Real estate and rental | 1,411 | 2.1% | $67,393 | 1.20 |
| Management of companies | 1,063 | 1.6% | $99,214 | 0.83 |
| Information | 1,058 | 1.5% | $95,437 | 0.74 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 939 | 1.4% | $31,900 | 0.74 |
| Utilities | 49 | 0.1% | $91,102 | 0.17 |
A location quotient above 1 means the industry is more concentrated here than in the US. BLS withholds sectors with too few employers.
| Measure ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Labour force | 94,170 |
| Employed residents | 91,778 |
| Unemployed residents | 2,392 |
| Unemployment rate | 2.5% |
| Jobs located in the county (QCEW) | 75,845 |
| Employer sites | 6,935 |
Residents employed and jobs located here differ: many residents commute to other counties.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP 2024 ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Unemployment ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence County | 664,854 | $46,727 million | $70,281 | 288,107 | $68,852 | 3.3% |
| Kent County | 171,456 | $12,418 million | $72,429 | 75,845 | $63,016 | 2.5% |
| Washington County | 130,344 | $9,768 million | $74,940 | 59,183 | $62,700 | 2.2% |
| Newport County | 84,657 | $8,771 million | $103,610 | 42,622 | $68,656 | 2.3% |
| Bristol County | 50,490 | $2,697 million | $53,416 | 15,186 | $58,617 | 2.4% |
171,456 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024).
$12,418 million in 2024 (BEA, current dollars).
2.5% in 2026M09 (BLS, not seasonally adjusted; the latest month may be revised).
75,845 jobs on average in 2024 with an average annual pay of $63,016 (BLS QCEW).