Living in Bristol, TN
Small city in Tennessee
Bristol is a small city in Tennessee, home to about 27,000 people, with 295,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, a car is essential. Life moves at a slow, calm pace, and homes are a mix of apartments and houses.
Is Bristol a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Low natural disaster risk: 3 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $269k and rents for $1,340 a month
- Low taxes: no state income tax, 0.8% property tax
- Mild summers: highs around 85°F
👎 Cons
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
- Smaller job market: about 295,000 people live within 31 mi
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Fewer graduates: 30% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Bristol ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Bristol: common questions
What is the cost of living in Bristol?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $269k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,340 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 86, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Bristol?
Tennessee has no state income tax, and homeowners here pay about 0.8% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Bristol safe?
Violent crime is somewhat above the national rate (1.3× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Bristol?
Public schools in Bristol test close to the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 16 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Bristol?
Bristol has cool winters: winter days average around 49°F and summer days around 85°F, with roughly 9″ of snow a year.
Does Bristol get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding and earthquakes: 3 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.21 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Bristol?
The nearest major airport is TYS, about 112 mi away.
How Bristol scores
Each bar compares Bristol with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Bristol
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Tennessee.
Is Bristol right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.