A sign welcomes visitors to the twin cities of Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee. State Street separates Virginia (left) and Tennessee (right). Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundary between the two cities is also the state line, which runs along State Street in their common downtown district.