BristolNY
Trash & recyclingIs Bristol a good place to live?
The best of Bristol’s subject grades is an A− for health; the weakest is a D− for walkability. On walkability, just 48 of New York’s 1,216 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is Stid Hill Multiple Use Area, 746 acres with 9.7 miles of trail. Bristol has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Bristol stand out
Where Bristol beats most towns.
97% of working residents leave Bristol for work
Where Bristol’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Bristol grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Bristol is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Bristol: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bristol, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Bristol.
Inland flooding leads a very low hazard risk in Bristol
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 86% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Bristol since 2014.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bristol ranks healthier than 81% of the country’s towns
Bristol beats the New York average on 12 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 82% of Bristol adults had a checkup this year, above both New York’s towns (81%) and U.S. towns (79%). 15% of Bristol adults report frequent mental distress.
| Bristol | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 81% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 23% |
| What stands out | Bristol | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.7% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bristol has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Bristol for work: only 3% work in town. 7% of Bristol residents live below the poverty line, where New York’s towns sit at 9.5% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. The top destinations are Rochester (13%), Canandaigua (8%) and Victor (7%).
| Bristol | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 10% | 8% |
| Work from home | 15% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fewer young adults than New York overall
Adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 47% of residents (39% statewide). The median age in Bristol is 53.6 years. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across New York.
| Bristol | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53.6 years | 43 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 14% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 32% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.5 points. Across New York, 51.2% of residents are women.
| Bristol | NY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.5% | 11% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.3% | 9.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.9% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7% | 14.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.5% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.9% | 12.2% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 22.2% | 13.3% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 20.4% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.3% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.6% | 12% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.4% | 24.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.1% | 14.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.1% | 8.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.5% | 22.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.3% | 17.9% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,300, single groups can be off by several points
In Bristol, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
Bristol has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Bristol’s July high is 79°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Bristol | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stid Hill Multiple Use Area | 9.7 mi | 746 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Bristol stands out in New York and nationally: a larger share of its households own their home
98% of households own their home in Bristol.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Seneca Lake and 26 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bristol. Close and well known come first.
29 mi LakeSeneca Lake
17 mi MountainCumorah
31 mi State parkLetchworth State Park
38 mi LakeCayuga Lake
25 mi MuseumGeorge Eastman Museum
26 mi Stadium & arenaBlue Cross ArenaPhoto credits
Seneca Lake: RochesterNY, Public domain · Cumorah: Hillcumorahpageantstage.jpg: la salebete derivative work: Eustress (talk), CC BY-SA 2.0 · Letchworth State Park: Suandsoe, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cayuga Lake: The original uploader was Cornellrockey at English Wikipedia. Later versions we, CC BY-SA 2.5 · George Eastman Museum: Dmadeo, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Blue Cross Arena: Matthew D. Wilson (LtPowers), CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Bristol
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bristol
About 3 of every 100 Bristol residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
About Bristol
Town in New York, United States
Bristol is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 2,298 at the 2020 census. Bristol was named after Bristol County, Massachusetts, by settlers from New England. The town of Bristol is in the western half of the county, southwest of the city of Canandaigua.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1788
- Area
- 37 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,234 ft
Bristol’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Bristol.
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | — | — | C | — | B | A− |
| Canandaigua | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| East Bloomfield | #103 | A | B− | — | B+ | A− |
| Richmond | #523 | C | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
| South Bristol | — | — | D | — | B | B |
| West Bloomfield | #96 | A | B+ | — | B+ | A− |
Bristol and South Bristol have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Bristol, East Bloomfield, Richmond, South Bristol and West Bloomfield report no FBI crime data of their own. Canandaigua isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bristol with a neighbor →
Questions about Bristol
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bristol, NY expensive?
The typical home is worth about $229,000, 56% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
What is Bristol, NY known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Emily Parmely Collins and Frank Gannett.