Commuting in Bristol County, Rhode Island: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 8:36 PM
Is the commute in Bristol County longer than the national average?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:36 PM
Commute Time Burden in Bristol County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Bristol County spend about 46 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 193 hours, about 8.1 full days, spent commuting. That is 6% more time on the road than the Rhode Island average of 21.9 minutes each way, a difference of 1.3 minutes.
Bristol County holds about 4.6% of Rhode Island's population but accounts for roughly 4.9% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Bristol County would save about 77 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $2,399 at the same national wage assumption used above.
Area
One-Way Commute
Daily Round-Trip
Yearly Time Spent
Estimated Yearly Cost
Local Road Traffic (VPD)
Bristol County
23.2 min
46.4 min
193 hrs/yr
$5,997
2,919
Rhode Island
21.9 min
43.9 min
183 hrs/yr
$5,668
2,085
United States
22.4 min
44.8 min
187 hrs/yr
$5,790
1,355
The estimated yearly cost applies a single national rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area - treat it
as a rough estimate, not a paycheck figure. Local road traffic counts, vehicles per day
on non-highway roads, come from proprietary
Ticon and
TrafficZoom data.
On average, it takes
23.2
minutes to get to work in
Bristol County.
That's 4% longer than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slowest county in Rhode Island
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 15.6% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Bristol County
Car:
76.9%
Worked at Home:
15.6%
Walked:
3.8%
Public Transportation:
1.7%
Bicycle:
1.1%
Other:
0.7%
Motorcycle:
0.2%
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Bristol County, versus 0.3% in Rhode Island.
Commute Mode Trends in Bristol County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Bristol County get to work, as a share of all workers aged 16 and over, across 16 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) releases from 2009 to 2024. Each release is a 5-year estimate: the 2024 figures cover surveys taken from 2020 to 2024. Because neighboring releases share most of their survey years, the lines move gradually, and a sudden change such as the rise of remote work in 2020 spreads across several releases. Hover over or tap a line to highlight it, and use the legend to show or hide a mode. Driving starts hidden so the smaller modes stay readable.
Share of workers aged 16 and over, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.Show commute mode data by year
Year
Car
Worked at Home
Walked
Public Transportation
Bicycle
Other
Motorcycle
Taxi
2009
89.1%
5.1%
2.9%
2.3%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2010
88.4%
5.1%
3.2%
2.4%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2011
88.1%
4.7%
3.6%
2.8%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2012
87.4%
5.0%
4.2%
2.9%
0.3%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
88.2%
4.8%
3.7%
2.7%
0.4%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
87.7%
4.8%
4.3%
2.3%
0.3%
0.3%
0.2%
0.0%
2015
87.8%
4.8%
4.3%
2.3%
0.4%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
2016
86.9%
5.6%
4.3%
2.1%
0.5%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
2017
87.7%
5.3%
4.0%
1.7%
0.5%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
2018
86.0%
5.4%
4.8%
2.4%
0.4%
0.6%
0.3%
0.0%
2019
87.4%
5.0%
4.4%
2.1%
0.4%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
2020
86.1%
6.4%
4.1%
2.2%
0.5%
0.7%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
84.5%
8.2%
4.1%
1.8%
0.4%
0.9%
0.1%
0.0%
2022
81.2%
10.7%
4.7%
2.1%
0.4%
0.7%
0.1%
0.0%
2023
80.0%
12.7%
4.8%
1.3%
0.4%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
2024
76.9%
15.6%
3.8%
1.7%
1.1%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Overall its share fell from 89.1% in 2009 to 76.9% in 2024, down 12.2 percentage points. It has fallen in each of the last 5 releases.
Working from home gained the most ground in Bristol County: its share of workers rose from 5.1% in 2009 to 15.6% in 2024, up 10.5 percentage points. Most of that increase, 10.6 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.
Public transit lost the most ground, falling from 2.3% to 1.7% of workers (down 0.6 percentage points).
Walking peaked at 4.8% in 2018 and has since fallen back to 3.8%.
Commute Start Times in Bristol County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Bristol County?
The bars show when commuters in Bristol County leave home for work, as a share of everyone who commutes (people who work from home are not counted), from the 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. The thin violet marks show Rhode Island for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.
12:00-4:59 AM
12:00-4:59 AMBristol County5.1%Rhode Island4.3%
5.1%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMBristol County3.6%Rhode Island2.9%
3.6%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMBristol County2.5%Rhode Island4.0%
2.5%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMBristol County6.1%Rhode Island8.4%
6.1%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMBristol County8.8%Rhode Island9.4%
8.8%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMBristol County17.0%Rhode Island14.9%
17.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMBristol County11.8%Rhode Island11.7%
11.8%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMBristol County15.2%Rhode Island13.4%
15.2%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMBristol County7.0%Rhode Island6.6%
7.0%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMBristol County7.2%Rhode Island7.5%
7.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMBristol County2.3%Rhode Island2.8%
2.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMBristol County2.0%Rhode Island1.7%
2.0%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMBristol County6.4%Rhode Island7.3%
6.4%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMBristol County5.1%Rhode Island5.1%
5.1%
Bristol CountyRhode IslandSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Bristol County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 17.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 14.9% across Rhode Island. Early starts are about as common as in Rhode Island: 11.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 11.1% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in Rhode Island: 52.7% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 49.4% there. About 1 in 4 commuters (23.0%) leave at 9 AM or later, which usually points to shift work, flexible hours or part-time jobs.
When people leave matters as much as how far they go. Rush-hour traffic shrinks how much ground a 20-minute trip covers, so a trade area drawn as a simple circle often takes in neighborhoods that customers or staff would never drive from and misses others that are an easy trip. A drive-time zone, also called an isochrone, outlines every place within a set number of minutes of an address, which makes it the more honest way to size a store's catchment, a hiring area or the commute from a new home.
See it for yourself on the interactive map: click any spot in Bristol County, pick a 5, 10, 15 or 30-minute drive and see the local demographics of the people who live within that exact drive time.
Is Bristol County Waking Up Earlier? Typical Departure Time, 2009-2024
Each line follows the typical (median) departure time: the moment by which half of commuters have already left home. Higher on the chart means a later start. Setting Bristol County next to Rhode Island and the U.S. shows whether local mornings are drifting earlier or later than everyone else's. The figures span 16 ACS 5-year releases, so changes build up gradually rather than jumping from one year to the next.
Median time commuters leave home, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.Show typical departure times by year
Year
Bristol County
Rhode Island
United States
2009
7:40 AM
7:46 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:44 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:47 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:47 AM
7:47 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:49 AM
7:49 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:46 AM
7:49 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:47 AM
7:50 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:47 AM
7:49 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:46 AM
7:48 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:46 AM
7:47 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:45 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:38 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:40 AM
7:43 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:41 AM
7:44 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:48 AM
7:44 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:48 AM
7:46 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Bristol County were on the road by 7:48 AM, 8 minutes later than in 2009 (7:40 AM). Across Rhode Island, the typical start barely moved over the same years. Commuters in Bristol County now leave 10 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Bristol County has moved 3 minutes later.
How does Bristol County's commute time compare?
Metric
Bristol County
Rhode Island
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
23.2 min
21.9 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
08:00 AM – 08:29 AM
07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home
15.6%
13.0%
15.0%
Walked
3.8%
2.8%
2.4%
Public Transit
1.7%
1.7%
3.2%
The average commute time in Bristol County is 23.2 minutes, longer than the 21.9 minutes in Rhode Island.
The share of commuters using public transit is about the same as Rhode Island. 3.8% commute by walking, higher than the 2.8% in Rhode Island.
Bristol County, RI Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Bristol County, RI is the smallest of the 6 counties compared here, 50,443 residents against a local median of 171,061. The measure that sets Bristol County, RI apart most is work from home: 15.6%, 27% above the local median of 12.3%.
The counties themselves spread 4.5% on work from home, so Bristol County, RI sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Bristol County, RI has the 2nd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Bristol County, Rhode Island.
Is living in Bristol County, Rhode Island good for avoiding long commute costs?
Commuters here spend an estimated 193 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $5,997 at a typical national wage. That's 6% more than the typical Rhode Island commuter spends.
When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Bristol County, Rhode Island?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Bristol County, Rhode Island. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM also sees a secondary bump.
Which counties in Rhode Island have the fastest and slowest commutes?
Among counties in Rhode Island, the shortest average commutes are in Newport County (17.9 min), Providence County (21.8 min), Kent County (22.5 min). The longest are in Bristol County (23.2 min), Washington County (22.8 min), Kent County (22.5 min).