Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Bristol (7.3%) is higher than in 84% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 24 minutes getting to work on average; Connecticut averages 27, the U.S. 26. For jobs and income Bristol is better than 51% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (B+). About one in five stay in Bristol for work; outside it, Hartford is the main destination (8%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Bristol’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Bristol’s grade up (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bristol could be anywhere from C+ to B.
A workday in Bristol: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 24,493 residents head out to work, 5,629 work right here, and 15,299 people come in from elsewhere.
About 53,000 people are in Bristol on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.69 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Bristol to work: where people go
Where Bristol clocks in
8% of workers
6% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Inside Bristol’s 20,928 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bristol, 2013 → 2023: 21,925 → 20,928. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bristol’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way for Bristol’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bristol workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 28,097 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Bristol
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Driving is how Bristol gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across Connecticut.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 31,711 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 68% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.6% of Bristol households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Bristol’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 704 U.S. towns of 44,000 to 84,000, Bristol comes 479th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Southington CT | 44,242 | $124K | 4.9% | 3.4% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | West Hartford CT | 64,242 | $130K | 6.3% | 4.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Wallingford CT | 44,406 | $105K | 5.4% | 3.9% | 21% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 477 | Idaho Falls ID | 71,785 | $73K | 11.5% | 4.2% | 54% | B− |
| 478 | East Hartford CT | 50,968 | $71K | 13.2% | 5.4% | 10% | B− |
| 479 | Bristol CT | 62,341 | $79K | 10.7% | 7.3% | 19% | B− |
| 480 | Four Corners FL | 65,048 | $73K | 10.5% | 4.8% | 6% | B− |
| 481 | Parma OH | 78,581 | $69K | 10.1% | 6.5% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 704 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 28% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Bristol, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
14% of Bristol works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Farmington (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bristol workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | – | B− | B+ | 24 min | $79,076 |
| Plainville | 3% | A− | B+ | 21 min | $84,343 |
| Burlington | under 2% | A | C | 29 min | $165,120 |
| Plymouth | under 2% | A− | C | 29 min | $94,514 |
| Southington | 5% | A | C+ | 24 min | $124,309 |
| Terryville | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Wolcott | under 2% | A | C | 30 min | $110,850 |
| Farmington | 6% | A+ | A− | 24 min | $141,120 |
Same-state neighbors only. Terryville: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bristol’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Bristol: questions
What is the median household income in Bristol?
$79,076 (±$5,956) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bristol?
10.7%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bristol?
24 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bristol work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hartford (8%, 15 mi), Farmington (6%, 6 mi), Southington (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bristol walkable?
Bristol is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bristol without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bristol, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bristol
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.