Westerly's primary industries today are textiles and tourism, but historically Westerly was also famous for its granite, mined from quarries in Bradford and Potter Hill.
Westerly was named for the settlement's location, respective to Rhode Island's geography, being the westernmost town in the state. There is also a possibility that Westerly got its name from the English village of Westerleigh. The English village was the home of one of Westerly, Rhode Island's founding fathers, Elder John Crandall (abt. 1612-1676). Elder John settled in Westerly in 1661 and the early history of Westerly contains many references to him and to his sons.
Westerly sits atop a glacial moraine, which is a series of small hills of debris left behind by receding glaciers in the last ice age.A pristine sample of the moraine encompasses a 140-acre (0.57 km) preserve owned in perpetuity by the Westerly Land Trust. Within the trust land are the rare "kettle formations that extend out under the sea to Block Island.
On the western border of Westerly flows the Pawcatuck River, once renowned for its own species of Westerly salmon, three of which are on the town's crest. The Pawcatuck River flows from some fifteen miles (24 km) deep into neighboring towns in the north and empties in Little Narragansett Bay. The Pawcatuck River also serves as the boundary between Westerly and Pawcatuck, CT. Along the coast of Westerly lie salt ponds, which serve as shallow reeflike pools, whose outer walls form the long, white beaches for which the town became renowned. From west to east, these ponds are called Winnapaug Pond, Weekapaug Pond and Quonochontaug Pond. The town also has a fresh water lake, Chapman's Pond, which is undergoing revitalization. Also, Westerly granite is mined here, some of it even made the Georgia state house.
Westerly becomes a large tourist attraction during the summer months - some argue that the population nearly doubles. Famous beaches, from west to east are Watch Hill Beach, East Beach, Misquamicut Beach, Westerly Town Beach, and Weekapaug Beach.
As of the census of 2000, there were 22,966 people, 9,402 households, and 6,130 families residing in the town. The population density was 763.3 people per square mile (294.7/km²). There were 11,292 housing units at an average density of 375.3/sq mi (144.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.17% White, 0.71% Black or African American, 0.57% Native American, 1.99% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.18% of the population.
There were 9,402 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $44,613, and the median income for a family was $53,165. Males had a median income of $37,887 versus $26,800 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,092. About 4.3% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.
The most frequent ancestries among the town's population are Italian (34.2%), Irish (17.9%) and English (14.2 %). Many Italians moved to Westerly from Italy at the turn of the century (particularly from Sicily and Calabria), and Italian is spoken at the homes of many residents.