Providence metropolitan area

The Providence metropolitan area (Providence MSA) is a region extending into eight counties in two states. Its core is in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts; its largest city is Providence, Rhode Island. With an estimated population of 1,622,520, exceeding that of Rhode Island by slightly over 60%, the Providence MSA is the 38th largest metropolitan area in the United States. The MSA covers all of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts, with an average population density of 2300 per mi2 (888 per km2).

The region's Gross Metropolitan Product is the country's 42nd largest at $64.7 billion, just above the Gross State Product of the entire state of Hawaii. Since 2006, the Providence metropolitan area has been officially included in the Greater Boston Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the sixth-largest CSA in the country, with over eight million residents.

Metropolitan statistical area
The Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area (defined at the county level by the US Census Bureau) contains all five counties in Rhode Island and one county in Massachusetts, namely:


 * Bristol County, Rhode Island
 * Kent County, Rhode Island
 * Newport County, Rhode Island
 * Providence County, Rhode Island
 * Washington County, Rhode Island
 * Bristol County, Massachusetts

Its principal cities are:
 * East Providence, Rhode Island
 * Providence, Rhode Island
 * Pawtucket, Rhode Island
 * Fall River, Massachusetts
 * New Bedford, Massachusetts
 * Warwick, Rhode Island
 * Cranston, Rhode Island
 * Attleboro, Massachusetts

NECTA
The Providence-based NECTA (defined at the municipal level by the Office of Management and Budget) does not include the separate New Bedford NECTA, but they are unified in a Combined NECTA.

The Providence-Fall River-Warwick RI-MA NECTA includes:
 * All cities and towns in Rhode Island except Westerly
 * In Worcester County, Massachusetts: Blackstone and Millville
 * In Norfolk County, Massachusetts: Bellingham and Plainville
 * In Bristol County, Massachusetts: North Attleborough, Attleboro, Seekonk, Rehoboth, Swansea, Somerset, Fall River, and Westport

Rail
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates commuter rail in the region, with the Providence branch of the Providence/Stoughton Line connecting the metropolitan area to Boston. Existing Providence line stations in Providence, South Attleboro, and Attleboro were supplemented by an extension to T.F. Green airport in Warwick and Wickford Junction in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, completed in 2012. A new Pawtucket/Central Falls station on the Providence Line was opened to the public in January 2023.

An extension of the Stoughton branch to Fall River and New Bedford is also planned as part of the South Coast Rail project. Phase I is expected to be completed in 2024, with trains running via the current Middleborough/Lakeville Line and stops at Freetown, Fall River, and in New Bedford at both Church Street and downtown New Bedford. Full completion of Phase II of the project, via the Stoughton branch, is expected by 2030, with a new seasonal stop opening on Fall River's waterfront at Battleship Cove at that time.

Amtrak provides regional rail service over the Northeast Corridor to the Providence and Kingston train stations. Northeast Regional trains stop at both stations, while Acela service is available in Providence.

Bus transit
Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), which has its hub in downtown Providence manages local bus transit for the state, serving 35 out of 39 Rhode Island communities as well as South Attleboro and Seekonk, Massachusetts. RIPTA operates 55 bus lines as well as Flex service and paratransit service. Ferry services link Block Island, Prudence Island, and Hog Island to the Rhode Island mainland. Additionally, there is a seasonal ferry service between Providence and Newport from late May to mid-October. Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) provides local bus service in the Massachusetts locales of Fall River and New Bedford. The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) serves much of the Massachusetts portion of the metropolitan area, and areas eastward to the South Shore.

Air transport
The major airport is T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, (though its airport code is PVD) though Logan International Airport in Boston is also used. The MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line passes through T.F. Green and connects the airport to Providence and Boston, offering additional airport flexibility in the Greater Boston Area.

Roads
Two interstates connect major population centers in the region: 95, which runs diagonally across Rhode Island and connecting with Boston and New York City, and 195, which runs east from Providence into Fall River and New Bedford. The auxiliary interstate 295 provides a bypass around Providence.

Additional highways serving the area include Route 146 (connecting Providence and Worcester), Route 138 (serving Newport), Route 24 (connecting Fall River and Newport with the Boston area), Route 4 (serving the Wickford area), Route 99 (connecting Route 146 with Woonsocket) and Route 140 (connecting Route 24 with New Bedford).

Demographics
Significant Lusophone populations exist across the region, particularly the area from East Providence to New Bedford. The two Bristol counties (RI and MA) are the only counties in the U.S. in which Portuguese-Americans are the largest ancestry group.