Kent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the population was 170,363, making it the second-most populous county in Rhode Island. The county was formed in 1750 from the southern third of Providence County. It was named after the county of Kent, England. Kent County, like other counties in Rhode Island, no longer has governmental functions (other than as court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries). Kent County is included in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn constitutes a portion of the greater Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area.