Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety20#12,566/15,637
Economy20#12,545/15,631
Housing76#3,659/14,977
Health8#14,417/15,609
Healthcare41#9,233/15,650
Environment98#253/15,453
Education51#7,614/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,333/15,650
Community17#12,977/15,651
Leisure & amenities25#11,733/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Bristol, Tennessee ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Sullivan County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Pharmacies · high2.9 /10k
95/100Tennessee 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSullivan County value
Primary care physicians · high114 /100k
91/100Tennessee 69 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSullivan County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Tennessee 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSullivan County value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySullivan County value
Natural hazard risk · low10.0
83/100Tennessee 37.82025Federal Emergency Management AgencySullivan County value
Social associations · high13.2 /10k
83/100Tennessee 11.0 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSullivan County value

Weaknesses

Depression · high32.5%
1/100Tennessee 29.0%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Distance to an Amtrak station · high110 mi
8/100Tennessee 93 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSullivan County value
Frequent mental distress · high21.4%
9/100Tennessee 22.0%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Tennessee 3.1United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSullivan County value
Injury deaths · high130 /100k
10/100Tennessee 122 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSullivan County value
Job growth · low-2.2%
11/100Tennessee -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSullivan County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
1.0 /1k (2021) → 4.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+380%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateImproving
34.1% (2015-2019) → 22.7% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.2% (2015-2019) → 88.3% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$42,010 (2015-2019) → $58,162 (2020-2024)
+38%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Poverty rateImproving
20.8% (2015-2019) → 13.6% (2020-2024)
−7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
25.6% (2015-2019) → 30.6% (2020-2024)
+5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Bristol, Tennessee improved on 6 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved6

Poverty−7.2 points20.8% → 13.6%
Child poverty−11 points34.1% → 22.7%
Uninsured−3 points13.5% → 10.5%
Household income+38%$42,010 → $58,162
Bachelor's++5 points25.6% → 30.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Bristol, Tennessee between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.2 min2015-2019	21.2 min2020-2024	+0.0 min	Within the margin of error	47%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.6%2015-2019	30.6%2020-2024	+5 points	Improved	67%
Broadband subscriptions	80.2%2015-2019	88.3%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Improved	50%
Child poverty rate	34.1%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	85%
Effective property tax rate	0.93%2015-2019	0.76%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	53%
High school diploma or higher	87.9%2015-2019	92.5%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	70%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4632015-2019	0.4692020-2024	+0.006	Within the margin of error	45%
Median household income	$42,0102015-2019	$58,1622020-2024	+38%	Improved	71%
Poverty rate	20.8%2015-2019	13.6%2020-2024	−7.2 points	Improved	87%
Rent as share of income	27.5%2015-2019	27.9%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Rent-burdened households	41.9%2015-2019	44.6%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Unemployment rate	7.9%2015-2019	6.8%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.5%2015-2019	10.5%2020-2024	−3 points	Improved	76%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Bristol, Tennessee five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bristol, Tennessee in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Bristol, Tennessee itself moved +2.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

27,636 residents (±40)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 20–29 women (+1.5 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

27,636 residents (±40)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

White90%24,745
Black3.1%857
Hispanic or Latino3.3%913
Asian0.3%†91
American Indian and Alaska Native0.1%†17
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races3.7%1,013

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

19,650 residents (±541)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

No high school diploma7.5%1,479
High school or GED31%6,187
Some college21%4,133
Associate degree9.4%1,844
Bachelor's degree20%4,026
Graduate degree10%1,981

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: No high school diploma (−4.6 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

12,119 households (±508)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $25k18%2,241
$25k–50k26%3,128
$50k–75k16%1,986
$75k–100k13%1,534
$100k–150k15%1,802
$150k–200k5.4%652
$200k or more6.4%776

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−12.0 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

12,119 households (±508)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Own67%8,164
Rent33%3,955

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

3,842 households (±486)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $75035%1,363
$750–1,00034%1,305
$1,000–1,50026%†986

Home values

8,164 homes (±474)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under $150k34%2,741
$150k–250k33%2,723
$250k–400k20%1,656

Age of homes

13,263 homes (±466)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

2010 or later6.6%872
2000–20098.3%1,099
1980–199922%2,967

Size of homes

13,263 homes (±466)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Studio2.0%†262
1 bedroom11%1,399
2 bedrooms29%3,833

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

12,828 workers (±652)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Drive alone79%10,148
Carpool6.2%†795
Public transit0.0%0
Walk1.9%†248
Bike0.0%0
Work from home12%1,557
Other0.6%†80

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+8.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

11,271 workers (±589)

Bristol, Tennessee
Tennessee share

Under 15 min36%4,016
15–29 min36%4,111
30–44 min20%2,291

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Sullivan County, the county holding most of Bristol's residents.

Sullivan County has 3,382 employer establishments, 209 for every 10,000 residents (0.84× the US rate of 248; 0.99× Tennessee's), with 60,008 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,773. The Census Bureau also counts 11,654 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,382; 11,654 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 209; US 248 · Tennessee 210
Paid employees: 60,008
Average annual pay: $60,773; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Sullivan County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	374	23.1	1.11×About typical	5,076	$92,207	539
Restaurants and other eating places	291	18	0.98×About typical	6,590	$20,417	44
Specialty trade contractors	178	11	0.71×Fewer than typical	3,017	$66,426	965
Religious organizations	177	10.9	1.97×More than typical	1,172	$24,927	—
Offices of physicians	168	10.4	1.60×More than typical	3,103	$114,391	184
Limited-service restaurants	162	10	1.25×About typical	3,677	$17,992	14
Full-service restaurants	100	6.2	0.80×About typical	2,516	$23,689	25
Lessors of real estate	98	6.1	0.49×Fewer than typical	466	$34,848	1,102
Services to buildings and dwellings	86	5.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	862	$32,099	961
Construction of buildings	79	4.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	1,297	$64,395	445
Gasoline stations	74	4.6	1.41×More than typical	497	$29,946	6
Building equipment contractors	71	4.4	0.73×Fewer than typical	1,815	$74,453	201

Rank places for an industry Open Sullivan County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 161,953 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Bristol, Tennessee: $252 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $7M; +2,341% vs FY2025
Per resident: $252; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.9%; US 30%
Single offer: 95%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response$6.6M95%
Forest Service$296.5K4.3%
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management$54.7K0.8%
Department of Veterans Affairs$10K0.1%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$6,2370.1%
Federal Aviation Administration$37.380.0%

Top recipients

USANTIBIOTICS LLC$6.6M95%
ALLEN BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION, INC.$127.4K1.8%
ACI FEDERAL INC$57K0.8%
UNITED CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY COMPANY, LLC$54.7K0.8%
US FOODS INC$50.2K0.7%
PROJECT SOLUTIONS, INC.

Spending by fiscal year

479.7KFY2017
268.4KFY2018
370.1KFY2019
593.7KFY2020
284.9KFY2021
354.2KFY2022
957KFY2023
727.4K

Top industries (NAICS)

Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing · 3254$6.6M95%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$127.4K1.8%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$61.9K0.9%
Employment services · 5613$57K0.8%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$50.2K0.7%
Water, sewage and other systems · 2213$46.1K

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Bristol, Tennessee, so they do not add up across cities.

Bristol, Tennessee's figures are part of those of Sullivan County, TN ($84.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 8.2% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Bristol is mostly in Sullivan County.

See federal money in Sullivan County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Bristol, Tennessee is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Diana HarshbargerR-TN-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Sullivan County46100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA36

Other cities and towns in Sullivan County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4708540

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends