Bristol County, Rhode Island: Diversifying Metro county. In 2024, voted D+26%. Democratic peak: D+52 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+26MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Diversifying MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 50,4902024 5-year
- Median household income
- $114,4902024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+52 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Newport County, RI · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Bristol CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Bristol County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −9.7% |
| 1896 | −49.0% |
| 1900 | −26.3% |
| 1904 | −20.0% |
| 1908 | −27.2% |
| 1912 | −1.8% |
| 1916 | −9.6% |
| 1920 | −39.4% |
| 1924 | −23.4% |
| 1928 | +3.8% |
| 1932 | +10.8% |
| 1936 | +4.3% |
| 1940 | +5.8% |
| 1944 | +12.2% |
| 1948 | +17.1% |
| 1952 | −0.9% |
| 1956 | −19.8% |
| 1960 | +19.1% |
| 1964 | +52.4% |
| 1968 | +21.4% |
| 1972 | −9.5% |
| 1976 | +5.1% |
| 1980 | +6.1% |
| 1984 | −10.7% |
| 1988 | +2.5% |
| 1992 | +12.9% |
| 1996 | +24.3% |
| 2000 | +21.7% |
| 2004 | +18.6% |
| 2008 | +26.7% |
| 2012 | +23.3% |
| 2016 | +22.2% |
| 2020 | +29.2% |
| 2024 | +26.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 17,458 | 10,047 | 28,334 | ||
| D | 18,050 | 9,745 | 28,415 | ||
| D | 14,609 | 8,965 | 25,475 | ||
| D | 14,974 | 9,231 | 24,676 | ||
| D | 16,162 | 9,260 | 25,807 | ||
| D | 14,448 | 9,855 | 24,732 | ||
| D | 13,424 | 8,375 | 23,272 | ||
| D | 12,257 | 6,988 | 21,671 | ||
| D | 11,414 | 8,208 | 24,911 | ||
| D | 11,168 | 10,626 | 21,883 | ||
| R | 9,386 | 11,635 | 21,084 | ||
| D | 9,851 | 8,508 | 21,852 | ||
| D | 11,228 | 10,131 | 21,425 | ||
| R | 9,928 | 12,009 | 21,985 | ||
| D | 11,561 | 7,403 | 19,475 | ||
| D | 14,306 | 4,466 | 18,772 | ||
| D | 11,099 | 7,537 | 18,636 | ||
| R | 6,748 | 10,070 | 16,818 | ||
| R | 8,313 | 8,468 | 16,789 | ||
| D | 7,562 | 5,343 | 12,982 | ||
| D | 6,287 | 4,919 | 11,222 | ||
| D | 5,967 | 5,314 | 11,284 | ||
| D | 5,327 | 4,867 | 10,662 | ||
| D | 4,775 | 3,833 | 8,703 | ||
| D | 4,080 | 3,780 | 7,873 | ||
| R | 2,500 | 4,076 | 6,729 | ||
| R | 1,569 | 3,682 | 5,366 | ||
| R | 1,292 | 1,574 | 2,940 | ||
| R | 1,077 | 1,126 | 2,695 | ||
| R | 899 | 1,606 | 2,599 | ||
| R | 963 | 1,457 | 2,466 | ||
| R | 727 | 1,273 | 2,080 | ||
| R | 424 | 1,321 | 1,832 | ||
| R | 905 | 1,107 | 2,085 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
18.3%
Italian
15.4%
English
12.6%
German
6.9%
American
6.9%
French
6.0%
Polish
3.7%
African American
0.9%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 44.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$114,490
Bristol County ranks in the top 0.5% of US counties.
Bristol County$114,490
Rhode Island$87,796
United States$80,734
Bristol County ranks in the top 0.5% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
6.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 184.0%
Working age (18–64)6.0%
Seniors (65+)16.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
87.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European8.0%
Spanish2.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.9%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 50.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Bristol County covers just three towns on a narrow peninsula between Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay, yet its dense concentration of college-educated coastal residents has made it one of Rhode Island's most reliably Democratic jurisdictions.
The Democratic margin here reached fifty-two points in 1964. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-six points.
A population of 50,490, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $114,490 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Newport County and Mercer County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Bristol County, Rhode Island. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/44001/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Rhode Island
More diversifying metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Bristol County, Rhode Island vote in 2024?
In 2024, Bristol County, Rhode Island voted Democratic by 26.2 points (D+26), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 28,334 votes cast, 17,458 went Democratic and 10,047 went Republican.
What is Bristol County, Rhode Island's political typology?
Akashic places Bristol County, Rhode Island in the "Diversifying Metro" typology — Mid-size metropolitan counties growing more diverse and trending Democratic. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 21 times, Republican 13 times, and other 0 times.
When did Bristol County, Rhode Island last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Bristol County, Rhode Island voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Bristol County, Rhode Island?
Bristol County, Rhode Island has a population of 50,490 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bristol County, Rhode Island?
Median household income in Bristol County, Rhode Island is $114,490 — above the national median of $80,734. The Rhode Island state median is $87,796.
What is the political history of Bristol County, Rhode Island?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Bristol County, Rhode Island from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 21 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The county's typology — "Diversifying Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.