Work & commute · Bristol

Work & commute in Bristol, WI

Most working residents leave Bristol for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Madison (42%), Sun Prairie (15%) and Middleton (2%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

35 of 2,284 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

21%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,249 Bristol residents head out of town to work, 35 work right here, and 619 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bristol.

2,249live here, work elsewhere

35live and work here

619work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bristol goes to work

Madison16.8 mi away

42%965

Sun Prairie5.3 mi away

15%333

Middleton19.2 mi away

2%57

DeForest8.6 mi away

2%54

Fitchburg21.9 mi away

2%53

Waunakee14.1 mi away

2%48

Milwaukee62.2 mi away

2%37

Bristol (in town)right here

2%35

Sun Prairie6.7 mi away

1%26

Monona15.4 mi away

1%25

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%651

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.

33%

48%

12%

33%Under 10 mi

48%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bristol is a commuter town

0.29jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.29 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Bristol are

654 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

654 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities31%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month71%

Jobs Bristol residents hold

2,284 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month73%

+73%

Jobs based in Bristol, 2013 → 2023: 377 → 654. 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.