Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Bristol earn more than those in 75% of U.S. towns
Bristol grades A for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. The poverty rate is 6.5%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 19.2 in Providence.
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
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bristol is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #11 of 38 in Rhode Island. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Bristol’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bristol could be anywhere from B+ to A.
Who commutes out of Bristol, and who commutes in
On a workday 6,930 residents head out to work, 1,799 work right here, and 5,033 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 (0.78 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.
12% of working residents work in Providence
Where Bristol clocks in
12% 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.
Jobs in Bristol: what the 6,832 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bristol, 2013 → 2023: 6,824 → 6,832. 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 daily trip from Bristol: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bristol workers work from home, vs 13% across Rhode Island. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,795 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Rhode Island: 83% drive alone, 2% 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, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bristol is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns, #4 of 38 in Rhode Island. Both inputs place Bristol near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 11,033 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 77% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 73% 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). 4.8% of Bristol households have no vehicle (Rhode Island 9.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Bristol’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bristol is 467th of 1,847 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 30,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 111 | Barrington RI | 16,961 | $153K | 4.5% | 2.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 380 | Portsmouth RI | 17,474 | $117K | 4.9% | 3.1% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 432 | North Kingstown RI | 27,885 | $126K | 6.1% | 3.4% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 465 | Londonderry NH | 27,844 | $133K | 2.7% | 5.0% | 14% | A |
| 466 | Little Falls Township NJ | 15,340 | $123K | 3.0% | 7.2% | 5% | A |
| 467 | Bristol RI | 21,970 | $98K | 6.5% | 2.8% | 21% | A |
| 468 | San Lorenzo CA | 29,171 | $113K | 4.6% | 5.1% | 3% | A |
| 469 | Johnston IA | 25,065 | $107K | 10.2% | 2.1% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Rhode Island.
Next door to Bristol
The biggest share goes to Warren (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bristol workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | – | A | A+ | 25 min | $97,764 |
| Portsmouth | 4% | A | B+ | 23 min | $117,467 |
| Warren | 5% | B+ | A | 25 min | $90,729 |
| Tiverton | under 3% | A− | B | 28 min | $106,036 |
| Barrington | under 3% | A+ | A | 30 min | $153,198 |
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?
$97,764 (±$8,188) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $87,796 across Rhode Island and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bristol?
6.5%, against 11.2% across Rhode Island and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bristol?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Rhode Island and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bristol work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Providence (12%, 13 mi), Middletown (6%, 11 mi), Warren (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bristol walkable?
Bristol is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bristol without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 8% 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.