Photo: Rania al-Bahara · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Bristol (1.5%) than in 90% of U.S. towns
Bristol grades B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. The average commute takes 25 minutes each way, next to 24 for Vermont and 26 for the U.S. Bristol has 1,054 jobs, against 1,992 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How Bristol earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bristol is better than 52% of U.S. towns, #34 of 71 in Vermont. Unemployment holds Bristol’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 18% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bristol could be anywhere from C to B+.
How many people are in Bristol by day
On a workday 1,691 residents head out to work, 301 work right here, and 753 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Bristol on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.
0.53 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.
19% of working residents work in Middlebury
Where Bristol clocks in
19% of workers
8% 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 kinds of work in Bristol
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bristol, 2013 → 2023: 906 → 1,054. 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 25 minutes each way, about the VT average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bristol workers work from home, vs 17% across Vermont. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,786 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Vermont: 82% 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 far Bristol goes to work
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 81% of U.S. towns, #28 of 71 in Vermont. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.2% across Vermont.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,175 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 78% 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 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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). 6.1% of Bristol households have no vehicle (Vermont 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Bristol’s commuters take a bus or train.
Bristol places 2,145th of 4,430 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 349 | Jericho VT | 5,056 | $117K | 0.9% | 1.2% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 414 | Richmond VT | 4,103 | $108K | 4.2% | 1.0% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 491 | Charlotte VT | 3,846 | $144K | 3.7% | 1.1% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,143 | Palmyra Township IL | 2,860 | $94K | 5.5% | 5.9% | 3% | B− |
| 2,144 | Pittsfield NH | 4,148 | $74K | 11.3% | 1.4% | 13% | B− |
| 2,145 | Bristol VT | 3,759 | $75K | 10.1% | 1.5% | 15% | B− |
| 2,146 | Meadow Oaks FL | 3,705 | $62K | 7.9% | 3.6% | <1% | B− |
| 2,147 | Grand Mound WA | 3,287 | $72K | 7.3% | 4.2% | 6% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,430 | 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 Vermont.
19% of Bristol works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bristol workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | – | B− | A− | 25 min | $74,620 |
| New Haven | under 3% | B | B | 22 min | $92,321 |
| Lincoln | under 3% | B− | C | 30 min | $96,667 |
| Middlebury | 19% | C+ | A+ | 16 min | $86,169 |
| Starksboro | under 3% | B | D | 29 min | $82,188 |
| Ripton | under 3% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Monkton | under 3% | B+ | D | 29 min | $119,688 |
Same-state neighbors only. Ripton: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Middlebury. 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?
$74,620 (±$8,110) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $81,203 across Vermont and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bristol?
10.1%, against 10.1% across Vermont and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bristol?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Vermont and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bristol work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Middlebury (19%, 8 mi), Burlington (8%, 29 mi), South Burlington (8%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bristol walkable?
Bristol is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 4% 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.