Bristol, NH carries a PlainCrime B safety grade with violent crime 65% below the U.S. average
According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2024, Bristol, NH shows violent crime at 121.6 per 100,000 residents and property crime at 2,158.1 per 100,000. Violent crime runs 65% below the U.S. average. PlainCrime assigns grade B from those rates. Figures are voluntary agency submissions joined to population denominators; incomplete coverage can move the number.
B safety grade
121.6/100K violent
2158.1/100K property
-65% vs U.S.
The verdict
Bristol earns a B safety grade: violent crime runs 65% below the U.S. average, placing it close to the national middle for violent crime.
B
PlainCrime safety grade
-65%
violent crime vs. U.S. average
65th
percentile of 7,769 U.S. cities
2,158.1
property crimes per 100K
Based on 4 reported violent incidents in a population of 3,290. At this volume, one additional or one fewer report can shift the rate and letter grade noticeably; small-city crime counts are inherently more volatile year to year than large-city counts, so treat this grade as a data point, not a precise ranking.
What the 2024 FBI UCR record shows for Bristol, NH
2020–2024 direction
The reported violent-crime rate ended the window higher
Across 5 comparable reporting years, the rate moved from 32.2 per 100,000 in 2020 to 121.6 in 2024 (+277.1%). The highest observed value was 150.0 in 2023 and the lowest 31.6 in 2021. Years whose submission failed the completeness test are left out of this comparison rather than plotted as change.
Small-count caution
The violent-crime count is small enough that the derived rate is unstable
Bristol reported 4 violent offences in 2024 against a population of 3,290. At this volume one additional or one fewer report moves the per-100,000 rate noticeably, so the figure is better read as a data point than as a precise measurement, and year-to-year swings here are expected.
Comparable rate records
Bristol's closest reported-rate comparisons are in the New Hampshire cohort
The nearest comparable 2024 records to Bristol's 121.6 violent-crime rate per 100,000 are Newington (121.2), Pittsburg (118.6), Berlin (126.6), Northwood (127.7). These are same-year agency submissions that pass the same completeness screen, not a claim that the cities have identical conditions. They make the cohort position above checkable against named records instead of a generic state average.
Position in the state cohort
Bristol reported a higher violent-crime rate than most comparable New Hampshire cities
At 121.6 reported violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024, Bristol ranks 34 of 186 — above 152 of the 185 other New Hampshire cities whose 2024 submission passes this site’s completeness test. That is +203.0% against the cohort median of 40.1. Cities that did not report, or that reported implausibly low totals, are excluded from this cohort rather than counted as low-crime.
Property counts dominate Bristol's FBI UCR Table 8 municipal row. Per-100,000 rates use the reporting-year population on that row; cities that fail the completeness test stay out of rate rankings. A citywide figure rarely describes any single neighbourhood inside the municipal boundary.
Based on 4 reported violent incidents in a population of 3,290. At this volume, one additional or one fewer report can shift the rate and letter grade noticeably; small-city crime counts are inherently more volatile year to year than large-city counts, so treat this grade as a data point, not a precise ranking.
Small-city offense counts above are voluntary UCR submissions, not neighbourhood advice. Year-to-year swings can look large when the population base is modest.
Property rate moved most (2023→2024)
Property Crime Rate
+132.1%
929.8 → 2158.1/100K
Violent Crime Rate
-18.9%
150 → 121.6/100K
Property offenses lead Bristol's 2024 record
Offense
Count
Rate /100K
vs NH
Property Crime
71
2158.1
927.6
Larceny-Theft
58
1762.9
-
Motor Vehicle Theft
9
273.6
-
Burglary
4
121.6
-
Arson
0
0
-
Violent Crime
4
121.6
111.9
Rape
2
60.8
-
Aggravated Assault
2
60.8
-
Murder
0
0
-
Robbery
0
0
-
Bristol Crime Trend (2020-2024)
Bristol property crime rate trend
Lead series · rose across 5 comparable years · FBI UCR
Property crime rate (2024)
2,158.1/100K↑132.1%vs 2023
Bristol violent crime rate trend
Secondary series · rose · 2020-2024 · FBI UCR
Violent crime rate (2024)
121.6/100K↓18.9%vs 2023
Year
Coverage
Population
Violent Rate
Property Rate
Total Crimes
2020
Comparable
3,102
32.2
1354
43
2021
Comparable
3,168
31.6
1136.4
37
2022
Comparable
3,303
121.1
999.1
37
2023
Comparable
3,334
150
929.8
36
2024
Comparable
3,290
121.6
2158.1
75
How Bristol sits among NH peers
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program · split lines are the U.S. national averages
Reporting Agency
Bristol Police Department NIBRS-participating
Bristol's crime figures on this page originate from Bristol Police Department's submission to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
This agency reports via NIBRS, the incident-based system that captures more detail per offense (multiple crimes per incident, victim/offender data) than the older summary counts.
Similar-Size Cities in New Hampshire
Crime rates read differently at different scales, so these are the New Hampshire cities closest to Bristol in population. Their populations run from 2,974 to 3,502, against 3,290 here. Or use our
side-by-side compare tool
to benchmark two cities directly.
These New Hampshire cities report the closest violent-crime rates to Bristol's 121.6/100K (same FBI UCR vintage rules; size peers above are excluded so the two lists stay distinct).
Bristol has a violent crime rate of 121.6 per 100,000 residents and a property crime rate of 2158.1 per 100,000, based on 2024 FBI UCR data.
Is Bristol, NH safe? ▼
Bristol receives a safety grade of B (Above Average), with a safety score of 69/100. The violent crime rate is 65% below the national average and 9% above the New Hampshire average.
What is the population of Bristol, NH? ▼
The reporting population for Bristol is 3,290 as of 2024.
How many crimes were reported in Bristol? ▼
In 2024, Bristol reported 4 violent crimes and 71 property crimes, for a total of 75 reported offenses.
How do Bristol's reported offenses compare with its population? ▼
In 2024, Bristol recorded about one reported offense per 44 residents and one reported violent offense per 823 residents. These ratios count reported offenses, not distinct victims, and are not a person's probability of victimization.
Is crime increasing or decreasing in Bristol? ▼
From 2023 to 2024, Bristol's violent crime rate decreased by 18.9%, and the property crime rate increased by 132.1%.
What is the most common crime in Bristol? ▼
The most common crime type in Bristol is larceny-theft, accounting for 77.3% of all reported crimes (58 incidents in 2024).
Small-city read: Bristol is sourced from FBI UCR Table 8 for 2024; rates use that row's population.
Small-city rows use the same per-100,000 formula; a few unreported years can leave gaps in the trend table. Verify the agency's submission on FBI.gov UCR.
Disclaimer (small city): UCR counts here are informational only. They are not a victimization probability. Source: FBI UCR Program.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program CIUS Table 8 municipal crime rates · 2024 Bristol, NH rates use the reporting-year population on the municipal row.