Newport is located on Aquidneck Island, the largest of the main islands located in Narragansett Bay. It is bordered to the south by Rhode Island Sound; to the west by Narragansett Bay; and to the north and east by the town of Middletown. Road access to the Aquidneck Island is gained via three bridges. The main access is the Pell (formally Newport) bridge, which connects Newport to Conanicut Island (Jamestown), another island located in Narragansett Bay. Jamestown is connected to North Kingstown via the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge. The second access bridge is the Mt. Hope Bridge, which connects the towns of Portsmouth and Bristol. The third access bridge is that of the Sakonnet River Bridge, which connects Portsmouth to the town of Tiverton.

  There are no limited access highways on Aquidneck Island. Limited access highway service to the island ends at the Pell and Sakonnet River Bridges. As such, the area does not lend itself well to large scale manufacturing, warehousing, or retail operations which are typically highly dependent upon good quality linkages.

  Rather, there are two major commercial arteries which serve the area, East Main Road (Route 138) and West Main Road (Route 114). Both are four-lane, state roads which are developed with a variety of retail, service, and office types. This development is intended to serve mostly the needs of the local population and has little appeal outside of Newport County.

  Newport is a major tourist community which attracts visitors from all around the world. There is a wide range of lodging alternatives to accommodate these visitors from "bed & breakfast" to major hotels. The city is also known as a major recreational sailing venue and hosts the headquarters for the United States Navy Naval Education Training Center. Given these attributes, tourism and the military provide a vast amount of the city's economic base. Outside of the government, the next largest employer is Newport Hospital.

  Given these characteristics, the Newport economy is not overly well diversed. It is sensitive to changes in the Rhode Island and regional economies, and on a national level, via Congress' control of the military budget. At this time, the local economy is stable and the appraiser forecasts that it should remain so for the near foreseeable future. Such a statement even takes into account the fact that since 1990, the population of Newport has decreased by 6.2%.