Work & commute · Bristol

Work & commute in Bristol, TN

About one in 4 of Bristol’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Johnson City (12%), Bristol (11%) and Kingsport (9%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26%

2,992 of 11,395 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 8,403 Bristol residents head out of town to work, 2,992 work right here, and 11,395 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bristol.

8,403live here, work elsewhere

2,992live and work here

11,395work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bristol goes to work

Bristol (in town)right here

26%2,992

Johnson City17.5 mi away

12%1,374

Bristol, VA5.2 mi away

11%1,290

Kingsport18.3 mi away

9%1,043

Abingdon, VA17 mi away

2%270

Blountville6.5 mi away

2%265

Knoxville104.7 mi away

2%244

Elizabethton15.2 mi away

2%207

Greeneville43 mi away

1%107

Chattanooga198.7 mi away

1%92

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%3,511

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Bristol commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

45%

34%

17%

45%Under 10 mi

34%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bristol is balanced between jobs and homes

1.26jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.26 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bristol are

14,387 jobs are based in Bristol. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bristol’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bristol

14,387 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Bristol residents hold

11,395 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+5%

Jobs based in Bristol, 2013 → 2023: 13,742 → 14,387. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.