Photo: Ken Gallager · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Bristol (1.9%) than in 86% of U.S. towns
Bristol grades B− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in seven stay in Bristol for work; outside it, Concord is the main destination (7%, 28 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 28 minutes, where New Hampshire has 27 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Bristol: the gist
Bristol trades workers with the towns around it
Bristol has about as many jobs (1,430) as working residents (1,547), but they are mostly different people: 1,303 residents leave for work each day while 1,186 people come in. Only 17% of the jobs in Bristol are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Bristol makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Bristol are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Bristol residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 19%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Bristol’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bristol is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #100 of 126 in New Hampshire. Unemployment holds Bristol’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 17% of U.S. towns). 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+.
Who commutes out of Bristol, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,303 residents head out to work, 244 work right here, and 1,186 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.92 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
A place that makes things: 37% of Bristol’s jobs are in goods
1,430 jobs are based in Bristol.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bristol, 2013 → 2023: 1,243 → 1,430. 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.
The places Bristol commutes to
Where Bristol clocks in
7% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
Bristol’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bristol workers work from home, vs 17% across New Hampshire. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,387 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across New Hampshire: 87% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles Bristol commutes
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.
In Bristol, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bristol is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #25 of 126 in New Hampshire. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.6% across New Hampshire, on an EPA index of 7.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,573 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 6.3% of Bristol households have no vehicle (New Hampshire 4.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bristol’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400, Bristol ranks 2,110th of 4,453 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 214 | Greenland NH | 4,143 | $163K | 0.5% | 2.3% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 264 | Mont Vernon NH | 2,698 | $158K | 4.4% | 1.5% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 291 | Hampton Falls NH | 2,379 | $166K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,108 | Pine Grove Township PA | 2,483 | $96K | 4.6% | 6.8% | 2% | B− |
| 2,109 | Wausau WI | 2,353 | $76K | 14.5% | 2.9% | 4% | B− |
| 2,110 | Bristol NH | 3,251 | $78K | 10.3% | 1.9% | 16% | B− |
| 2,111 | Lyons WI | 3,635 | $84K | 9.8% | 6.0% | 2% | B− |
| 2,112 | Malmstrom AFB MT | 4,302 | $65K | 5.8% | 1.8% | 4% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 New Hampshire.
The towns around Bristol
The biggest share goes to New Hampton (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bristol workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | – | B− | B+ | 28 min | $78,438 |
| Bridgewater | under 3% | C | B+ | 30 min | $82,361 |
| New Hampton | 2% | B | B− | 33 min | $95,250 |
| Hill | under 3% | C | D | 35 min | $82,125 |
| Alexandria | under 3% | C+ | D | 37 min | $89,194 |
Same-state neighbors only. 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?
$78,438 (±$9,840) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,031 across New Hampshire and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bristol?
10.3%, against 7.2% across New Hampshire and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bristol?
28 minutes each way on average, against 27 across New Hampshire and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bristol work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Concord (7%, 28 mi), Plymouth (7%, 8 mi), Laconia (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bristol walkable?
Bristol is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bristol without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% 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.