What is the population of Bristol city?

Bristol city has 27,490 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #28 of 504 in Tennessee.

What is the median household income in Bristol city?

Median household income in Bristol city is $55,007 a year, 30% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Bristol city?

Median gross rent is $764 a month and the median home value is $182,500, so rent absorbs about 16.7% of median household income.

Is Bristol city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 3.3× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Bristol city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 16.7% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

Aerial view of a dense city center, illustrating the US cities ZIP code directory

Tennessee · Census place 08540

Bristol, TN population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Bristol, Tennessee (Bristol, TN — Census place “Bristol city”) is 27,490 residents, ranking #28 of 504 places in Tennessee. Median household income is $55,007, the median home is worth $182,500 and median gross rent runs $764 a month. Looking for the Bristol Tennessee ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Bristol, TN: 37620.

Population: 27,490Bristol city residents
Median household income: $55,007Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $182,500Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $764Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 41.9 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 66.3%Owner-occupied households

Bristol ZIP codes (Tennessee)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Bristol.

The Bristol TN ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

37620

What the numbers mean in Bristol city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Bristol city median would spend about 16.7% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 3.3× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 14.1% of residents and 66.3% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Bristol city, TN in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Bristol city is a small city in Tennessee, with 27,490 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #28 of 504 ranked by population — larger than 94% of them. The median age here is 41.9 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Bristol city earn a median of $55,007 a year, 30% below the national figure of $78,538 and within a couple of points of the $55,988 median for the 307 Tennessee cities we cover. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 14.1% of residents here, above the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Bristol city is valued at $182,500, 39.8% below the national figure and 5% below the $191,100 peer median, while median gross rent runs $764 a month, 45.7% below the national figure, or roughly $9,168 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 16.7% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.3×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 66.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

Places of similar size in Tennessee.

More Tennessee coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Bristol city?: Bristol city has 27,490 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #28 of 504 in Tennessee.
What is the median household income in Bristol city?: Median household income in Bristol city is $55,007 a year, 30% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Bristol city?: Median gross rent is $764 a month and the median home value is $182,500, so rent absorbs about 16.7% of median household income.
Is Bristol city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 3.3× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Bristol city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 16.7% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Bristol city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.