Jobs, pay and daily life in Bristol, from official statistics with source and year on every table.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Bristol is a city in Pennsylvania with 9,902 residents. The median household earns $76,042 a year and the median rent is $1,409 a month, which is 22.2% of the median household income. It is part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area, where BLS counts 2,897,830 jobs.
How Bristol compares. Among the 100 largest places in Pennsylvania, Bristol is #87 by population, #81 for rent (#1 = cheapest), #78 for long commutes (#1 = fewest), #77 for college degrees (#1 = most). Its county, Bucks County, is #13 of 67 counties for average pay ($64,953).
Bristol has 9,902 residents (ACS 2020–2024), about 0.1% of the population of Pennsylvania. It covers 2 square miles of land, which works out to roughly 5,832 people per square mile. The median age is 38.9, 5% younger than the state median (38.9 against 40.9).
The median gross rent is $1,409 a month (rent plus utilities), 17% above the state median ($1,409 against $1,209). Over a year that is 22.2% of the median household income. US housing guidance treats housing as affordable when it takes 30% of income or less, so the typical household is under that line. The median home value is $271,100, which is 3.6 times the median household income ($76,042); a ratio under 4 usually means ownership is within reach for many households. 61.0% of households own their home, 12% below the state average (61.0% against 69.3%).
The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area has 2,897,830 jobs in the BLS wage survey, and the median pay across all occupations is $54,310 a year, 7% above the national median ($54,310 against $50,980). The biggest occupation groups are office and administrative support (320,580 jobs, median $49,040); transportation and material moving (247,580 jobs, median $44,740); food preparation and serving related (235,150 jobs, median $34,710). The area is most specialised in healthcare support (1.5 times) and legal (1.4 times), where the share of workers is well above the national share. The best-paying groups with at least 5,000 jobs are management ($131,960) and computer and mathematical ($107,250). In 2026M09 the unemployment rate of Bucks County was 2.9%. 66.7% of residents aged 16 and over are in the labour force. The city lies in Bucks County; its jobs, pay by industry and GDP are on the county page.
Among workers, 64.9% drive alone, 3.4% use public transit, 1.7% walk, 11.4% work from home. 18.2% of workers commute 45 minutes or more, 11% above the state average (18.2% against 16.4%).
20.9% of adults aged 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 41% below the state share (20.9% against 35.2%). 6.0% of residents were born outside the United States, 23% below the state share (6.0% against 7.7%). The poverty rate is 8.6%, 27% below the state rate (8.6% against 11.7%).
The warmest month is Jul, averaging 76°F (24.6°C), and the coolest is Jan at 30°F (-1.0°C). About 1,228 mm (48 inches) of precipitation falls in a year; Jul is the wettest month (124 mm) and Jan the driest (78 mm). These values come from NASA satellite-based climatology on a grid of about 50 km, so they describe the wider area, not a weather station in the city.
Closest cities in this guide: Croydon (2 miles, rent 7% lower); Levittown (3 miles, rent 10% higher); Morrisville (8 miles, rent 26% lower); Trenton (10 miles, rent 8% lower). Rent differences are against Bristol; use the Compare tab to put any two cities side by side.
Federal jobs in Pennsylvania (519) →State guide: PennsylvaniaCountry guideBucks CountyPennsylvania rankings
These links go to official sources and open in a new window. The first one is the government's or company's own site as listed in Wikidata (property "official website"); check it before relying on it.
There are 519 federal postings open in Pennsylvania (USAJOBS, state level; we do not have a city filter for them). Private-sector jobs are not in this feed.
Open federal jobs in Pennsylvania →
| Occupation ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Location quotient ⇅ | Median pay (year) ⇅ | Entry (10th pct.) ⇅ | Top (90th pct.) ⇅ | Median vs US ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 158,280 | 1.97 | $29,800 | $28,250 | $38,710 | -17% |
| Registered Nurses | 73,790 | 1.17 | $101,180 | $79,160 | $121,900 | +4% |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 69,080 | 0.96 | $32,220 | $23,790 | $36,920 | +3% |
| General and Operations Managers | 68,730 | 1.05 | $121,630 | $57,210 | $284,880 | +15% |
| Retail Salespersons | 63,990 | 0.88 | $34,810 | $27,760 | $48,000 | -2% |
| Cashiers | 54,100 | 0.94 | $33,050 | $26,990 | $37,140 | +1% |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 51,100 | 0.93 | $43,460 | $33,260 | $56,700 | +8% |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 45,770 | 0.87 | $36,800 | $29,350 | $50,370 | -1% |
| Office Clerks, General | 45,660 | 0.99 | $47,060 | $32,220 | $66,360 | +5% |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 41,900 | 0.99 | $36,570 | $21,900 | $65,340 | +4% |
| Customer Service Representatives | 41,740 | 0.86 | $47,070 | $34,040 | $67,650 | +5% |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 40,790 | 0.99 | $36,930 | $30,160 | $49,890 | +0% |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 32,850 | 1.03 | $48,850 | $35,660 | $65,560 | +3% |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 32,220 | 0.84 | $59,370 | $46,850 | $79,590 | +1% |
| Nursing Assistants | 30,680 | 1.14 | $46,220 | $38,600 | $49,860 | +9% |
| Accountants and Auditors | 29,370 | 1.09 | $85,990 | $59,560 | $139,420 | +3% |
| First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 28,900 | 1.08 | $72,700 | $47,860 | $102,870 | +5% |
| Software Developers | 28,480 | 0.91 | $133,040 | $82,960 | $190,180 | -2% |
| Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary | 26,990 | 1.02 | $36,080 | $26,870 | $46,470 | -2% |
| Security Guards | 25,460 | 1.06 | $37,450 | $31,330 | $57,970 | -1% |
| Occupation ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Location quotient ⇅ | Median pay (year) ⇅ | Entry (10th pct.) ⇅ | Top (90th pct.) ⇅ | Median vs US ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radiologists | 550 | 1.10 | $452,940 | $115,180 | $543,760 | +8% |
| Family Medicine Physicians | 1,790 | 0.89 | $294,430 | $129,460 | $423,650 | +21% |
| Chief Executives | 4,120 | 1.08 | $292,770 | $124,800 | $546,180 | +37% |
| Psychiatrists | 640 | 1.22 | $279,410 | $81,940 | $404,870 | -1% |
| Physicians, All Other | 11,380 | 1.78 | $245,810 | $75,590 | $391,750 | -8% |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 1,190 | 1.23 | $238,540 | $155,250 | $370,880 | +1% |
| Pediatricians, General | 870 | 1.19 | $226,440 | $121,340 | $375,010 | +8% |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | 1,760 | 0.91 | $180,330 | $89,580 | $390,340 | -22% |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 15,090 | 1.21 | $173,470 | $109,990 | $280,230 | -1% |
| Natural Sciences Managers | 5,510 | 2.72 | $172,900 | $59,040 | $322,380 | +3% |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | 5,060 | 1.23 | $171,140 | $131,420 | $249,020 | -0% |
| Lawyers | 19,040 | 1.35 | $170,660 | $84,840 | $344,160 | +7% |
| Financial Managers | 18,520 | 1.18 | $166,920 | $101,930 | $309,900 | +0% |
| Marketing Managers | 8,270 | 1.12 | $166,310 | $81,500 | $284,450 | -0% |
| Database Architects | 1,500 | 1.20 | $163,590 | $96,720 | $207,020 | +17% |
| Dentists, General | 2,570 | 1.11 | $163,390 | $65,520 | $331,950 | -4% |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | 930 | 0.74 | $159,330 | $67,360 | $436,320 | -38% |
| Sales Managers | 10,200 | 0.86 | $156,500 | $81,680 | $281,160 | +6% |
| Purchasing Managers | 1,470 | 0.94 | $155,500 | $98,390 | $228,860 | +5% |
| Human Resources Managers | 4,190 | 1.02 | $154,490 | $91,650 | $261,930 | +3% |
These figures are for the whole Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area, not the city alone.
Median pay across all occupations: $54,310 (US $50,980); unemployment 3.6% (2026M09).
| Industry (residents) ⇅ | Share of employed residents ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Education and health care | 28.3% |
| Retail trade | 11.4% |
| Manufacturing | 10.8% |
| Transportation, warehousing, utilities | 9.8% |
| Professional, scientific, management, administrative | 9.1% |
| Arts, entertainment, accommodation, food | 8.4% |
| Finance, insurance, real estate | 6.6% |
| Construction | 5.9% |
| Other services | 4.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 2.7% |
| Public administration | 2.1% |
| Information | 0.8% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining | 0.0% |
Cities have no official GDP or payroll count of their own. These figures are for the county where Bristol lies and cover the whole county, not only the city.
| County ⇅ | Population ⇅ | GDP (2024) ⇅ | GDP per resident ⇅ | Jobs (QCEW 2024) ⇅ | Employer sites ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Job change vs 2023 ⇅ | Unemployment rate ⇅ | Labour force ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucks County | 647,461 | $48,827 million | $75,413 | 274,632 | 21,271 | $64,953 | +2.0% | 2.9% | 354,013 |
| Industry ⇅ | Jobs ⇅ | Share of private jobs ⇅ | Average annual pay ⇅ | Concentration vs US (location quotient) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 58,880 | 23.4% | $57,599 | 1.50 |
| Retail trade | 34,770 | 13.8% | $39,788 | 1.27 |
| Manufacturing | 26,798 | 10.7% | $76,644 | 1.19 |
| Accommodation and food services | 22,680 | 9.0% | $24,487 | 0.91 |
| Construction | 17,078 | 6.8% | $83,855 | 1.18 |
| Professional and technical services | 15,715 | 6.3% | $111,003 | 0.82 |
| Wholesale trade | 13,464 | 5.4% | $94,664 | 1.24 |
| Administrative and waste services | 11,853 | 4.7% | $56,417 | 0.73 |
| Other services (except public administration) | 10,644 | 4.2% | $44,221 | 1.29 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 9,696 | 3.9% | $57,750 | 0.83 |
| Finance and insurance | 8,102 | 3.2% | $124,959 | 0.73 |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation | 6,196 | 2.5% | $33,913 | 1.34 |
| Educational services | 4,500 | 1.8% | $49,041 | 0.79 |
| Information | 3,232 | 1.3% | $102,979 | 0.63 |
| Management of companies | 3,221 | 1.3% | $146,232 | 0.70 |
| Real estate and rental | 2,970 | 1.2% | $65,249 | 0.70 |
| Utilities | 600 | 0.2% | $210,641 | 0.57 |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 560 | 0.2% | $43,687 | 0.25 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 142 | 0.1% | $79,727 | 0.14 |
QCEW counts jobs covered by unemployment insurance; sectors with too few employers are withheld by BLS. Latest-month unemployment is preliminary.
| How residents get to work ⇅ | Share ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Drive alone | 64.9% |
| Public transit | 3.4% |
| Walk | 1.7% |
| Work from home | 11.4% |
| Commute of 45 minutes or more | 18.2% |
Shares are of workers aged 16 and over; they describe residents, wherever they work.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median household income | $76,042 |
| Income per person | $43,798 |
| Median gross rent per month | $1,409 |
| Yearly rent as share of median household income | 22.2% |
| Median home value | $271,100 |
| Homeowners | 61.0% |
| Poverty rate | 8.6% |
| Price level of the metro area (US = 100) | 102.6 |
| Metro median pay, all occupations | $54,310 |
Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.
State tax: Flat 3.07%.
| Indicator ⇅ | Value ⇅ |
|---|---|
| Median age | 38.9 |
| High school or higher (25+) | 89.0% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 20.9% |
| Born abroad | 6.0% |
| Labour force participation (16+) | 66.7% |
Work permits are federal: see permits and first steps.
| Month ⇅ | Mean temperature (°C) ⇅ | Mean temperature (°F) ⇅ | Precipitation (mm) ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -1.0 | 30 | 78 |
| Feb | 0.1 | 32 | 78 |
| Mar | 4.5 | 40 | 100 |
| Apr | 10.8 | 51 | 97 |
| May | 16.5 | 62 | 96 |
| Jun | 21.6 | 71 | 121 |
| Jul | 24.6 | 76 | 124 |
| Aug | 24.0 | 75 | 121 |
| Sep | 20.4 | 69 | 102 |
| Oct | 13.5 | 56 | 110 |
| Nov | 7.1 | 45 | 90 |
| Dec | 2.0 | 36 | 111 |
Satellite-reanalysis climatology on a grid of roughly 50 km, so it smooths local effects (hills, coast, city heat). It is not a weather-station record.
| City ⇅ | State ⇅ | Distance (straight line) ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croydon | PA | 2 mi | 9,684 | $70,308 | $1,312 |
| Levittown | PA | 3 mi | 50,926 | $105,071 | $1,556 |
| Morrisville | PA | 8 mi | 9,752 | $99,526 | $1,044 |
| Trenton | NJ | 10 mi | 90,338 | $52,537 | $1,294 |
| Moorestown-Lenola | NJ | 11 mi | 14,625 | $138,398 | $1,648 |
| Mercerville | NJ | 12 mi | 13,535 | $128,277 | $1,621 |
| Cherry Hill Mall | NJ | 14 mi | 14,541 | $103,708 | $2,132 |
| Willow Grove | PA | 14 mi | 14,131 | $98,064 | $1,765 |
| Roslyn | PA | 15 mi | 10,639 | $99,318 | $1,306 |
| Horsham | PA | 16 mi | 16,005 | $94,987 | $1,446 |
Straight-line distance in miles, not driving distance.
Pick two cities.
vs
9,902 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimate).
$1,409 a month (ACS 2020–2024), which is 22.2% of the median household income.
$76,042 (ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars).
2.9% (BLS county, Bucks County (latest month 2026M09)).
Pennsylvania. See the state guide for minimum wage, taxes and pay.