Census-designated place · Addison County, Vermont

Bristol, Vermont

Bristol is a census-designated place in Addison County, Vermont. It has 2,142 residents. Bristol, Vermont has a quality-of-life score of 88 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,857 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Vermont it ranks #15 of 51 cities and towns. It ranks best on high school diploma or higher (high), public libraries (high) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), comfortable days (low) and effective property tax rate (high).

88Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,857 of 15,651 cities and towns
Vermont: #15 of 51 in VT
Population: 2,142 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 897.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 5008950

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety91#1,465/15,637
Economy47#8,251/15,631
Housing25#11,234/14,977
Health82#2,774/15,609
Healthcare77#3,579/15,650
Environment99#156/15,453
Education97#539/15,649
Infrastructure65#5,541/15,650
Community84#2,447/15,651
Leisure & amenities69#4,906/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Bristol, Vermont ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Addison 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

High school diploma or higher · high96.8%
98/100Vermont 94.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Public libraries · high3.4 /10k
97/100Vermont 2.9 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesAddison County value
Public EV charging ports · high19.7 /10k
96/100Vermont 20.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyAddison County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
95/100Vermont 11 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAddison County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Vermont 1.5 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataAddison County value
Flu vaccinations · high55.0%
93/100Vermont 47.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAddison County value

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high47.5%
1/100Vermont 50.1%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAddison County value
Comfortable days · low21.8%
2/100Vermont 21.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAddison County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.93%
9/100Vermont 1.51%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Depression · high26.8%
17/100Vermont 27.8%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Job growth · low-1.6%
17/100Vermont -1.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataAddison County value
New business applications · low9.5 /1k
20/100Vermont 11.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauAddison County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,855 (2015-2019) → 2,142 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.0% (2015-2019) → 88.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
7.2% (2015-2019) → 13.4% (2020-2024)
+6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Poverty rateWorsening
8.6% (2015-2019) → 13.1% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
8.9% (2015-2019) → 4.6% (2020-2024)
−4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$61,184 (2015-2019) → $73,064 (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Vermont improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved1

Broadband+12 points76.0% → 88.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Bristol, Vermont between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.9 min2015-2019	22.8 min2020-2024	−4.0 min	Within the margin of error	85%
Bachelor's degree or higher	43.4%2015-2019	41.5%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Broadband subscriptions	76.0%2015-2019	88.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	69%
Effective property tax rate	1.97%2015-2019	1.93%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	22%
High school diploma or higher	94.6%2015-2019	96.9%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	4.1×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	68%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3792015-2019	0.4182020-2024	+0.039	Within the margin of error	21%
Median household income	$61,1842015-2019	$73,0642020-2024	+19%	Within the margin of error	32%
Rent as share of income	30.9%2015-2019	30.1%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Rent-burdened households	52.3%2015-2019	50.2%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	63%

“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, Vermont five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Bristol, Vermont 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, Vermont itself moved +2.1 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

2,142 residents (±266)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

1,142 households (±174)

Bristol, Vermont
Vermont share

Under $25k20%†231
$25k–50k16%†188
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,142 households (±174)

Bristol, Vermont
Vermont share

Own62%706
Rent38%†436

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,163 workers (±225)

Bristol, Vermont
Vermont share

Drive alone71%820
Carpool5.6%†65
Public transit0.0%0

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 Addison County, the county holding most of Bristol's residents.

Addison County has 1,158 employer establishments, 306 for every 10,000 residents (1.23× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Vermont's), with 13,471 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,389. The Census Bureau also counts 3,970 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,158; 3,970 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 306; US 248 · Vermont 322
Paid employees: 13,471
Average annual pay: $51,389; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	138	36.5	2.35×More than typical	591	$59,235	399
Construction of buildings	78	20.6	2.72×More than typical	375	$58,597	223
Ambulatory health care services	74	19.5	0.94×About typical	682	$54,507	224
Services to buildings and dwellings	64	16.9	2.51×More than typical	125	$57,656	289
Restaurants and other eating places	57	15.1	0.82×About typical	776	$27,027	4
Landscaping services	52	13.7	3.92×More than typical	98	$63,755	112
Other specialty trade contractors	41	10.8	4.31×More than typical	186	$66,070	108
Building equipment contractors	40	10.6	1.76×More than typical	211	$60,256	80
Offices of other health practitioners	31	8.2	1.35×More than typical	92	$48,891	165
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	30	7.9	2.51×More than typical	87	$49,172	37
Lessors of real estate	28	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	78	$51,359	321
Automotive repair and maintenance	27	7.1	1.42×More than typical	71	$44,901	78

Rank places for an industry Open Addison County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 37,856 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 $966 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Bristol, Vermont: $0.45 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $966
Per resident: $0.45; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Forest Service$966100%

Top recipients

BOWEN, JACK$966100%

Spending by fiscal year

0FY2018
141.6FY2020
928.1FY2021
577.8FY2022
196.7FY2023
-66.1FY2024
965.8FY2026

What was bought

Construction & real property

Top industries (NAICS)

Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$966100%

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, Vermont, so they do not add up across cities.

Bristol, Vermont's figures are part of those of Addison County, VT ($31.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Addison 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, Vermont is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Becca BalintD-VT · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.2%

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.

Addison County99100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Addison 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
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/5008950

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends