Bristol County, Rhode Island

Bristol County is a county in Rhode Island, United States, occupying a small peninsula between Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay, in the eastern part of the state. It had a population of 50,793 at the 2020 census and covers 45 square miles (116 km2) total — 24 square miles (62 km2) of land and 21 square miles (54 km2) of water — centred near 41°42′N 71°17′W.

Bristol is the county seat, and its postal code is 02809. The county has three towns — Barrington, Bristol, and Warren — along with several unincorporated villages and neighborhoods. Rhode Island counties have no county government and no civil townships; Bristol County today functions only as a judicial and statistical district. The county sits in the Eastern time zone and carries FIPS code 44001.

Towns & Villages in Bristol County

Bristol County has three incorporated towns and about a dozen recognized villages and neighborhoods within them. Rhode Island has no cities in the legal sense here — all three are towns under state law — and none of the smaller places below are separately incorporated; they are traditional village and neighborhood names used locally and on maps. Population and ZIP figures are shown only where a place has its own census count or postal designation; unnamed cells use —.

Bristol town’s population includes its downtown historic district and the villages of Bristol Highlands, Coggeshall, Annawomscutt, and Touisset Highlands. Barrington’s neighborhoods — Bay Spring, Nayatt, Hampden Meadows, West Barrington, Maxfields Corner, and Peck Corner — are grouped along the town’s Narragansett Bay shoreline. Warren’s East Warren, Beach Terrace, and Laurel Park sections lie along the Kickemuit and Palmer rivers.

ZIP Codes

• 02806 — Barrington
• 02809 — Bristol (also serves Bristol Highlands, Coggeshall, Annawomscutt, and Touisset Highlands)
• 02885 — Warren (also serves East Warren, Beach Terrace, and Laurel Park)

Because each of the three towns has just one ZIP code, every village and neighborhood in the county shares its town’s postal code — there is no separate ZIP for any of the smaller places.

Geography

Bristol County sits on a narrow peninsula between Narragansett Bay to the west and Mount Hope Bay to the east, connected to the rest of Rhode Island by a strip of land shared with Providence County. The Kickemuit River separates Warren from Bristol, and the Barrington River divides Barrington from Bristol along the peninsula’s neck. Mount Hope, at 217 feet (66 m), is the county’s highest point and overlooks the bay where the Wampanoag sachem Metacom (King Philip) was killed in 1676. The county’s water area, at 21 square miles (54 km2), is nearly as large as its land area, reflecting its shoreline-heavy shape.

Bristol County borders Providence County to the north, Newport County across the bay to the south, Kent County to the west, and Bristol County, Massachusetts, across the state line to the east.

Demographics

Bristol County had 50,793 residents at the 2020 census, the fewest of Rhode Island’s five counties. Bristol is the largest town at 22,493 people, followed by Barrington at 17,153 and Warren at 11,147. The county’s median household income runs below the Rhode Island median of $84,972, driven mainly by Warren’s more modest incomes relative to Barrington’s; Barrington itself is among the wealthier towns in the state. Population density is roughly 2,120 people per square mile of land, among the densest in Rhode Island.

Economy & Local Life

Bristol is home to Roger Williams University, one of the county’s largest employers, along with the Roger Williams Park Zoo’s sister institution, the Blithewold Mansion and Gardens estate, and a working waterfront of marinas and seafood businesses along Narragansett Bay. Barrington is largely residential and commuter-oriented, with Providence a short drive north. Warren retains a mill-town character from its 19th-century textile and rum-distilling industries and today mixes small manufacturing with restaurants along its Main Street historic district. Bristol’s Fourth of July celebration, home to the nation’s oldest continuous Independence Day parade, is the county’s best-known annual event.

History

Bristol County was organized on February 17, 1747, when the disputed border area including Bristol, Warren, and part of what became Barrington was transferred from Massachusetts’s own Bristol County to Rhode Island, which took the same name for its new county. The area had earlier been the heart of the Wampanoag confederacy under Metacom, and Bristol’s harbor later became a center of the transatlantic slave trade and, afterward, of shipbuilding and industry. Barrington was set off from Warren as a separate town in 1770 and again in 1806 after a period reannexed to Massachusetts.

Getting There

Bristol County is reached from Providence via Route 114 and the Mount Hope Bridge, which carries Route 114 into Newport County. Interstate 195 skirts the county’s northern edge through Warren on its way from Providence to Fall River, Massachusetts.

• Providence — 15 miles northwest
• Fall River, Massachusetts — 10 miles east
• Newport — 12 miles south, across the Mount Hope Bridge
• Boston — 50 miles northeast

The nearest commercial airport is T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick, about 20 miles west of Bristol.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Bristol County, Rhode Island?
It occupies a peninsula in the eastern part of Rhode Island, between Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay, bordering Massachusetts.

What is the population of Bristol County?
50,793 at the 2020 census, the smallest of Rhode Island’s five counties.

How big is Bristol County?
24 square miles (62 km2) of land and 21 square miles (54 km2) of water — it is one of the smallest counties in the United States by land area.

What is the county seat of Bristol County?
Bristol is the county seat.

How many towns are in Bristol County?
Three: Barrington, Bristol, and Warren.

What ZIP codes are in Bristol County?
02806 (Barrington), 02809 (Bristol), and 02885 (Warren).

Does Bristol County have a county government?
No. Like all Rhode Island counties, Bristol County has no county government; its towns handle all local governance directly.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Rhode Island.