Middletown+Community+Report

Community Description of Middletown, RI



By:

Danielle, Alyssa, Catarina, and Kerri

This report is designed to give insight into the town of Middletown. The report will look at the demographics of the town in hopes of showing the various factors that make education either positive or negative for the students attending school there. Some of these factors are income and demographics and these should shed some light on the living situation of the citizens of Middletown.
 * Introduction**

Middletown is located in between Newport and Portsmouth. The zip code is 02842. It is nearby the Newport State Airport, Aquidneck Island, Newport Naval Complex, and Prescott farm. If coming from areas such as North Kingstown or South Kingstown, you will need to take the Jamestown bridge and then the Newport bridge to get to Middletown.
 * Geographical Location**



According to the data collected by the U.S. Census between 2005 and 2009, Middletown is a wealthy community. All of the incomes for the area are higher than the averages for the United States and the state of Rhode Island. The median household income for Middletown was $65,742 dollars and Rhode Island's was $55,569 dollars, which is practically a ten thousand dollar difference between the two incomes. The United States median household income was $51,425 dollars, which is an even larger difference when compared to Middletown's median (specifically a $14,317 dollar difference). The median family income for Middletown ($81,528) was higher than the state's income ($71,037) and it was drastically higher than the U.S.'s ($62,363) family income. The per capita income for the community was $32,848 dollars, which is slightly higher than both Rhode Island's ($28,638) and the U.S's ($26,059) per capita income. The percentage of families below poverty level in Middletown was 5.1 percent, which is lower than the state's level (8.1%) and the country's level (9.9%). Middletown's percentage of individuals below the poverty level was also lower than both Rhode Island and the United States. It was 8.6 percent, whereas Rhode Island's was 11.6 percent and the U.S.'s was 13.5 percent (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-2009)[1] (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-2009)[2].
 * Income Poverty Data**

Middletown is a predominantly white community. Its population is majority white (87.1%) which is a higher percentage of white citizens than Rhode Island (82.8%) and a much higher percentage of white citizens than the United States as a whole (74.5%). This is not to say that there is no diversity in Middletown. The population of other races is about average for the state and the nation with 6.6% of the population identifying themselves as African American (compared to 5.5% in the state and 12.4% in the nation) and 3.2% identifying themselves as Asian (compared to 2.7% in the state and 4.4% in the nation). Middletown's population of Hispanics is slightly lower than the national and state average, with 7.4% of the population identifying themselves as Hispanic. This is compared to 11.4% in the state and 15.1% in the nation. Following the national and state proportions, 97.8% of Middletown's population is people of one race (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-2009).
 * Race and Ethnicity Data**

The census of 2000 reports that Middletown contains 4,328 kids in comparison to Rhode Island's total of 247,822 kids. These kids appear to live in a world where they are better off than many in the general population. For example, only 19% live in single-parent families as compared to the state's rate of 30%. Middletown also has a much lesser poverty rate; only 6.2% of families in Middletown are below the poverty threshold as compared for to the state's 16.9%. There are a fewer amount of teens that are neither in school nor working (7.7%). The children in Middletown seem to be in a safe environment (Rhode Island Kids Count, 2011)[3].
 * Census-Based Indicators**

Middletown also seems to be very well off economically. Although the cost of rent in Middletown is about $200 higher in Middletown than the average cost of rent in Rhode Island, a very small percentage of children are born at highest risk (1%) or to families receiving cash assistance (2%). There is also an extremely high percentage of women (92%) who participate in the WIC program; the percentage of women participating in WIC in Middletown is about 25% higher than the Rhode Island average. WIC, also known as Women, Infants, and Children, is a federal program that provides money to states so that they may provide prenatal care. The fact that so many women have access to this money proves how well off Middletown is economically (Rhode Island Kids Count, 2011).
 * Economic Well-Being Indicators**

Although the majority of children in Middletown are suffering from fewer risks than the average child in Rhode Island, a startlingly low amount (about 16%) are receiving medical assistance. However, the majority of children are born healthy. Very few children suffer from elevated blood levels (1.2%) or are born underweight (6.3%). The majority of newborn infants (76%) are also breastfed. About 3.3 or every 1000 children are hospitalized for asthma and about 22 of every 1000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth. The children in Middletown are generally healthy and well taken care of (Rhode Island Kids Count, 2011).
 * Health Indicators**

Middletown unfortunately has a higher rate than the average rate of Rhode Island with domestic violence incidents with children present. It's somewhat concerning but good that the rate of children with incarcerated parents is very low (Rhode Island Kids Count, 2011).
 * Safety Indicators**

All of the children start off involved in full-day kindergarten, but then later on some of the teens are not in school and are not working. A little more than half of these students meet the reading and math proficiency levels (Rhode Island Kids Count, 2011).
 * Education Indicators**

There are quite a few children in single parent families in Middletown and only a few live with their grandparents. There are a lot of single mothers but the rate of birth mothers younger than 20 and births to mothers with three risk factors is very low (Rhode Island Kids Count, 2011).
 * Family and Community**

As this information shows, Middletown is very well off. The community has many strengths, including its wealth and health. These aspects of the community help to improve the education system. Children in Middletown are given plenty of opportunities from kindergarten onwards, and their advancing test scores prove that they are showing improvement. Middletown makes it possible for the education system as well as the students to keep moving forward.
 * Conclusion**

> U.S. Census Bureau. (2005, 2009). Middletown town, Newport County, Rhode Island. //U.S. Census Bureau: Fact Sheet//. Retrieved October 17, 2011, from [|link] > > U.S. Census Bureau. (2005, 2009). Rhode Island. //U.S. Census Bureau: Fact Sheet//. Retrieved October 17, 2011, from [] > Rhode Island Kids Count. (2011, April 4). Profile of Middletown, Rhode Island. //Rhode Island Kids Count//. Retrieved November 9, 2011, from []
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