Smithfield is a medium-sized town located in the state of Rhode Island. With a population of 21,987 people and four associated neighborhoods, Smithfield is the 19th largest community in Rhode Island.Unlike some towns where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Smithfield is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Smithfield is a town of professionals, sales and office workers, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Smithfield who work in office and administrative support (13.94%), management occupations (11.39%), and sales jobs (9.50%). Also of interest is that Smithfield has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 12.28% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.Smithfield is also a college town, where lots of students live while attending area colleges. Because of the high percentage of people living in Smithfield enrolled in college, Smithfield has a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared towards the needs and activities of students. The citizens of Smithfield are very well educated compared to the average community in the nation: 38.07% of adults in Smithfield have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Smithfield in 2022 was $43,696, which is middle income relative to Rhode Island, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $174,784 for a family of four. The people who call Smithfield home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Smithfield residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Smithfield include Italian, Irish, French, English, and Portuguese. The most common language spoken in Smithfield is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Portuguese.
