County profile

Bristol County

Rhode Island · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
50,490
Median household income
$114,490
People below poverty
6.5%
Median home value
$513,800

Income

The median income of households in Bristol County, Rhode Island was $114,490. An estimated 3.5% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 24% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 3.5
$10,000 to $14,999 2.9
$15,000 to $24,999 4.5
$25,000 to $34,999 3.4
$35,000 to $49,999 7.4
$50,000 to $74,999 10.1
$75,000 to $99,999 13.3
$100,000 to $149,999 19.2
$150,000 to $199,999 11.8
$200,000 or more 24

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 101717
Female 71897

An estimated 78.2% of households received earnings. An estimated 31.9% of households received Social Security and an estimated 29.7 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $26,646. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 78.2
Social Security 31.9
Retirement income 29.7
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 5.1
Cash public assistance income 3.3

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 6.5 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 4% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 10.3% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 5.9% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 6.5
Children under 18 years below poverty 4
People 65 years old and over below poverty 10.3
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 5.9

In 2020-2024, 5.3 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 27.9% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 61.5% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 39.7% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024, 97.7% had health insurance coverage and 2.3% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 82.5% and public coverage was 30.1%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 1.9%.


In 2020-2024, Bristol County, Rhode Island had a total population of 50,490 - 25,844 (51.2%) females and 24,646 (48.8%) males. The median age was 44.2 years. An estimated 17.8% of the population was under 18 years, 29% was 19 to 44 years, 27.9% was 45 to 64 years, and 21.1 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 944 864
5 to 9 851 1256
10 to 14 1863 1371
15 to 19 1984 1949
20 to 24 1842 1702
25 to 29 1290 1270
30 to 34 1278 1317
35 to 39 1013 1418
40 to 44 1885 1640
45 to 49 1423 1472
50 to 54 1671 1721
55 to 59 2090 2106
60 to 64 1677 1919
65 to 69 1643 1714
70 to 74 1210 1494
75 to 79 846 1017
80 to 84 509 751
85 and over 627 863

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 89.5% were White; 1.1% were Black or African American; 7.2% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 2.6% were Asian; 0.5% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 5% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 4.2% of the people in Bristol County, Rhode Island were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 88.3% of the people in Bristol County, Rhode Island were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 20,104 households in Bristol County, Rhode Island. The average household size was 2.33 people.

Married-couple households made up 51.2% of the households in Bristol County, Rhode Island while cohabiting couple households made up 6.5% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 25.2% of all households, while 17.1% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 13.8% of households were male householders living alone, and 15.8% were female householders living alone, for a total of 29.6% of all households.

In Bristol County, Rhode Island, 28% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 35.8% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 51.2
Cohabiting Couples 6.5
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
17.1
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
25.2

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 50.8% of males and 48.7% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 37.1 29.8
Now married, except separated 50.8 48.7
Separated 0.8 1.3
Widowed 3.2 8.2
Divorced 8.1 12

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Bristol County, Rhode Island, 762 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 49.6% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 90.3% of the people living in Bristol County, Rhode Island were U.S. natives. 42.3% of the Bristol County, Rhode Island population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 9.7% of Bristol County, Rhode Island residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 75.4% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 86 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Bristol County, Rhode Island come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Bristol County, Rhode Island.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 11.6
Asia 23.1
Europe 60
Africa 1.4
Northern America 3.6
Oceania 0.3

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024, 12.8 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 2.8% of people at least five years old; 3.8% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 2.8
Other Indo-European languages 8
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 1.9
Other languages 0.1

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 90.2 % of the people at least one year old living in Bristol County, Rhode Island were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 90.2
Different house, same county 3.6
Different county, same state 1.9
Different state 4.2
Abroad 0.1

Education

In 2020-2024, 93.6 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 53% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 6.4% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Bristol County, Rhode Island was 13,531 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 852 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 7,207. College or graduate school enrollment was 5,472.

Educational Attainment of People in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 6.4
High school diploma or equivalency 19.8
Some college, no degree 13.8
Associate's degree 7
Bachelor's degree 28.3
Graduate or professional degree 24.7

Disability

In Bristol County, Rhode Island, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 11.9 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 4% of people under 18 years old, to 8.3% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 29.5% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Bristol County, Rhode Island, 61.1 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 36.3% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 78.3% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 14.6% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 7 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 20,424 78.3
Federal, state, or local government workers 3,819 14.6
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 1,814 7

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Bristol County, Rhode Island worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 0.5
Construction 5.6
Manufacturing 9.9
Wholesale trade 2.3
Retail trade 7.3
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 2.8
Information 1.4
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 8.8
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 12.2
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 29.9
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 9.7
Other Services, except public administration 4.3
Public administration 5.3

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 14,178 54.4
Service occupations 4,237 16.2
Sales and office occupations 4,841 18.6
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 1,434 5.5
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 1,387 5.3

Commuting to Work

An estimated 70.8% of Bristol County, Rhode Island workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 6% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 26.4 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 70.8
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 6
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 1.7
Walked 3.8
Other means 2
Worked from home 15.6

In 2020-2024, Bristol County, Rhode Island had a total of 21,615 housing units. Of these housing units, 70.5% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 29.5% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 0.1% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 70.5
Apartments in multi-unit structures 29.5
Mobile homes 0.1
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

3.3% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 32.5% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Bristol County, Rhode Island was 6 rooms, and of these housing units 64% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Bristol County, Rhode Island had 20,104 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 1,511 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 71.8% while renters occupied 28.2%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.53 and in renter-occupied houses it was 1.81.

3.9% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 16.1% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 5.8% and another 18.9% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Bristol County, Rhode Island:

House Heating Fuel Used in Bristol County, Rhode Island in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 61.6
Electricity 9.2
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 28.1
All other fuels 1.1
No fuel used 0.1

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Bristol County, Rhode Island was $513,800.

Of the owner-occupied households, 66.5 % had a mortgage. 33.5% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $2,509 and for owners without a mortgage it was $1,061.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Bristol County, Rhode Island was $1,528. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.