States · Rhode Island · Washington County

Kingston, Rhode Island.

A community in Washington County, with no city government of its own. Zillow publishes no home prices for it: see Washington County’s.

Living in Kingston, Washington County, Rhode Island

Kingston, in Washington County, had 7,825 people in the 2020 census. Unemployment in Washington County was 2.9% in August 2026, and the county had 0.7% more jobs in 2025 than the year before. The most residents work in schools and health care, then restaurants and hotels.

People 7,825 in the 2020 census; median age 19.5
Household income Too few homes in Kingston for the Census survey to measure.
Unemployment 2.9% Washington County, August 2026; 3.4% a year before
Homes Too few homes in Kingston for the Census survey to measure.
  • 675households
  • 77%of adults have a degree
  • 2%below the poverty line
  • 18 mintypical commute
  • 12%work from home

What residents work in

  • Schools, hospitals and social care30%
  • Restaurants, hotels and entertainment27%
  • Professional and business services12%
  • Shops (retail)11%
  • Other services5%
  • Media and telecoms5%

Employed residents by industry, from the Census survey. Washington County had 59,618 jobs in 2025, 0.7% more than the year before (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Weather through the year

Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 37° and 19°; warmest in July, 80° and 60° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 37° 19° F M A M J J 80° 60° A S O N D
Average daily high and low for each month: coldest in January, 37° and 19°; warmest in July, 80° and 60° 20° 40° 60° 80° J 37° 19° F M A M J J 80° 60° A S O N D

Coldest in January, with highs near 37° and lows near 19°; warmest in July, with highs near 80° and lows near 60°. About 52 inches of rain and melted snow a year.

Average daily high and low, 1991–2020, at the Kingston West weather station, a mile away (NOAA).

Largest workplaces in Washington County

  1. General Dynamics Electric BoatShipyard7,658
  2. University of Rhode IslandUniversity or college3,239
  3. South County HospitalGeneral hospital934FTE
  4. Ocean State Job Lot RI1105General warehousing and storage630
  5. North Kingstown SchoolsSchool district580FTE
  6. THE Westerly HospitalGeneral hospital537FTE
  7. Toray Plastics (America)Packaging film, plastics, single-web or multiweb, manufacturing515
  8. Chariho SchoolsSchool district500FTE

Staff on average in 2025, as each workplace reported it to OSHA with its injury records: 107 workplaces with 20 or more staff, 18,236 people in all across the county; Kingston has one of its own. Colleges come from IPEDS (NCES, 2023–24), hospitals from their Medicare cost reports (CMS, 2023) and school districts from the Common Core of Data (NCES, 2023–24); FTE marks full-time equivalent staff. Not listed: many offices and banks, which need not report to OSHA; military bases, whose staff OPM withholds; and, in about half the states, city and county governments.

Natural hazards

  1. Ice stormsRelatively high
  2. LightningRelatively high
  3. HurricanesRelatively moderate
  4. Strong windRelatively moderate
  5. Winter weatherRelatively moderate

FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the risk each natural hazard poses to the people, buildings and farms in Kingston’s census tracts, against the rest of the country; all of them together, relatively low. It is meant for planning, not a substitute for a local risk assessment or a flood map: FEMA’s index.

From the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 census and its American Community Survey (2020–2024 five-year estimates), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A survey, so each figure has a margin of error, and figures it is not sure of are left out. More on Washington County.