Photo: AppalachianCentrist · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Bristol are lower than in 87% of U.S. towns
About one in four stay in Bristol for work; outside it, Bristol is the main destination (11%, 5 miles). Below the poverty line: 18.0% of residents, next to 9.9% across Virginia. Jobs and income earn Bristol D; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Bristol
A lot of Bristol workers cross into Tennessee
27% of Bristol workers work outside Virginia, most of them in Tennessee, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Many of the people who work in Bristol live in another state
Bristol, TN (13%), Kingsport, TN (2%) and Johnson City, TN (1%) are among the top places Bristol’s workers come from. Counting only the top ten home towns, 18% of the jobs here are held by people from out of state. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Bristol are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 27 across Virginia. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Virginia worker. Time on the road ↓
Bristol is where the jobs are
Bristol has 10,117 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Bristol draws workers from far and wide
The 10,117 jobs in Bristol are filled from a wide area. Bristol’s own residents hold 17% and the ten next-biggest home towns 22%; the other 61% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 14% of U.S. towns, #244 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car holds Bristol’s grade up (ahead of 41% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($50,404, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bristol could be anywhere from D to C.
Where the people who work in Bristol live
Where Bristol clocks in
11% of workers
7% of workers
4% 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.
The trip to work from Bristol: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bristol workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,316 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Who leaves Bristol for work, and who comes in
On a workday 4,748 residents head out to work, 1,757 work right here, and 8,360 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Bristol on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Jobs in Bristol: what the 10,117 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bristol, 2013 → 2023: 11,345 → 10,117. 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Bristol
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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 77% of U.S. towns, #115 of 253 in Virginia. 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 7,142 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 11.7% of Bristol households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Bristol’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Bristol sits among U.S. towns of 11,000 to 22,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Wakefield VA | 11,930 | $238K | 1.8% | 2.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Rose Hill VA | 21,066 | $175K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,065 | Coos Bay OR | 15,686 | $57K | 15.3% | 6.0% | 41% | D |
| 2,066 | Reidsville NC | 14,692 | $43K | 21.1% | 6.4% | 17% | D |
| 2,067 | Bristol VA | 16,418 | $50K | 18.0% | 6.3% | 27% | D |
| 2,068 | Brainerd MN | 14,428 | $56K | 15.0% | 9.0% | 29% | D |
| 2,069 | Meadville PA | 12,230 | $43K | 22.3% | 5.7% | 32% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,220 | 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 Virginia.
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?
$50,404 (±$3,694) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bristol?
18.0%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bristol?
18 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bristol work?
27% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bristol (11%, 5 mi), Abingdon (7%, 12 mi), Kingsport (4%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bristol walkable?
Bristol is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bristol without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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.