Newport County is included in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is in turn constitutes a portion of the greater Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area.

In 1856, the town of Fall River was split off from Tiverton but was ceded to Massachusetts six years later in 1862 as part of the settlement of the boundary dispute between Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

County government was abolished in Rhode Island in 1842 and today remains only for the purpose of delineating judicial administrative boundaries.

The highest point in the county is Pocasset Hill, 320 feet (98 m) above sea level, located in Tiverton.

As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 85,433 people, 35,228 households, and 22,228 families living in the county.

19.6% were of Irish, 13.2% Portuguese, 11.8% English, 9.2% Italian, 6.3% German and 5.2% French ancestry.

92.0% spoke English, 2.3% Spanish, 2.1% Portuguese and 1.3% French as their first language.

29.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 82,888 people, 34,911 households, and 21,076 families living in the county.