aCorridor Regional Profiles

City of Bristol

The City of Bristol is located on I-81 on the Virginia/Tennessee border and is recognized for its strong, mixed industry base and outstanding transportation connections.

City of Bristol Profile
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Bristol is located within the Tri-Cities TN/VA MSA region that includes nearly 500,000. The Bristol region, including the city and surrounding Washington County in Virginia and Sullivan County in Tennessee has a population of nearly 221,000. This Tri-Cities region was the first region in America to be designated as an All-America City in 1999.

Located within a day's drive of more than 70 percent of the U.S. population, the twin city (the Virginia/Tennessee line runs through Bristol’s State Street) is served by more than 50 motor freight carriers and two railroads. Outstanding air service is available through the Tri-Cities Regional Airport,TN/VA, which offers jet and air carrier service to more than 100 cities, and is the location of a Foreign Trade Zone.

Solid industrial base

Bristol's industrial base includes batteries, electronics, pharmaceuticals, mining machinery, weapon components, aluminum products, compressors, apparel, textiles, copper wire, and food products.

Leading employers in the Bristol area are the school systems, Bristol Regional Medical Center, Bristol Compressors, Strongwell, Exide Corporation, Ball Corporation, The United Company, Boise Cascade,CAMAC, and numerous others.

Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center, a community healthcare provider for nearly eight decades, is located on a state-of-the-art campus completed in January 1994. The 348-bed hospital is situated on 125 acres and offers a vast spectrum of cutting-edge medical services and technologies. Over 500 physicians practice in the Tri-Cities Area.

Amenities are plentiful

The Bristol area offers many amenities, from the historic downtown area to the scenic beauty of the Appalachian Mountains and Holston Lake, the excitement of the Bristol Motor Speedway NASCAR races, and the wealth of higher educational opportunities.

A growing retail area that includes Wal-Mart, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Home Depot, several hotels and leading restaurant chains is developing at Exit 7 of I-81.

Musical heritage runs deep in Bristol named by U.S. Congress as the official "Birthplace of Country Music." The Birthplace of Country Music Museum is located in Bristol and is a designated stop along the Crooked Road, the Music Heritage Trail that extends from Galax to Bristol, to Scott County at the Carter Family Fold and on to Clintwood to the Ralph Stanley Museum and Mountain Music Heritage Center.

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