Households in Bristol earn more than those in 90% of U.S. towns
1.9% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 10.6% for Wisconsin as a whole. Jobs and income earn Bristol A; getting around on foot earns it B+. Only 5% work in Bristol itself; outside it, Kenosha draws the most (15%, 8 miles).
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 and Kenosha trade workers both ways
Kenosha is the top workplace for Bristol residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Bristol come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
49% of the jobs in Bristol are in trade, transport and utilities, against 24% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
The four measures behind Bristol’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bristol is better than 87% of U.S. towns, #131 of 362 in Wisconsin. The poverty rate holds Bristol’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (5.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bristol could be anywhere from B to A+.
Commuting out of Bristol: the destinations
Where Bristol clocks in
15% of workers
11% 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.
Jobs in Bristol: what the 1,966 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bristol, 2013 → 2023: 1,580 → 1,966. 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.
Who leaves Bristol for work, and who comes in
On a workday 2,402 residents head out to work, 139 work right here, and 1,827 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,700 people are in Bristol on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 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.
How long Bristol spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bristol workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,481 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Bristol
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.
The commute in Bristol is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bristol is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #103 of 362 in Wisconsin. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 6.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.8% across Wisconsin, on an EPA index of 6.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,788 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). 1.8% of Bristol households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Bristol’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Bristol is 546th of 3,651 U.S. towns of 3,700 to 7,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Fox Point WI | 6,583 | $141K | 2.5% | 0.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Elm Grove WI | 6,354 | $158K | 4.4% | 0.7% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | Jackson WI | 3,950 | $117K | 0.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 544 | Andover Township NJ | 5,721 | $142K | 7.8% | 2.4% | 4% | A |
| 545 | Springdale MD | 5,226 | $162K | 1.7% | 7.9% | 1% | A |
| 546 | Bristol WI | 5,300 | $124K | 1.9% | 5.3% | 5% | A |
| 547 | Boxborough MA | 5,508 | $145K | 3.8% | 5.2% | 5% | A |
| 548 | San Martin CA | 6,954 | $158K | 7.9% | 2.9% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,651 | 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 Wisconsin.
28% 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 | – | A | B+ | 26 min | $123,648 |
| Kenosha | 15% | B− | B+ | 24 min | $71,239 |
| Pleasant Prairie | 11% | A− | B− | 25 min | $103,902 |
| Salem Lakes | 2% | A− | C | 32 min | $94,819 |
| Paris | under 2% | A | C− | 22 min | $106,719 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Kenosha. 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?
$123,648 (±$39,747) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bristol?
1.9%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bristol?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bristol work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kenosha (15%, 8 mi), Pleasant Prairie (11%, 6 mi), Milwaukee (4%, 37 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bristol walkable?
Bristol is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bristol without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% 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.