Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Yes, by almost any measure. Bedford earns an A+, 36th of 282 graded towns in Massachusetts. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally, its schools outperform 92% of the state's, and it reports less crime per resident than 87% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.0 million, 8.8 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. Bedford’s median rent is $2,622 a month, against $1,682 a month in Massachusetts’ towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. Its National Register listings include Christopher Page House and Bedford Veterans Administration Hospital Historic District. Bedford's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 90% of U.S. towns.
Where Bedford beats most towns.
Job Lane House| Widest gap | Bedford | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.1% | 11.9% |
Census counts: 523 in 1790, 14,383 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1687 and 6 maps from 1889 on.
15 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Bedford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bedford. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
5 mi LakeWalden Pond
Big draw15 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
15 mi AttractionFreedom Trail
12 mi Stadium & arenaHarvard StadiumFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harvard Stadium: Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bedford, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bedford.
Bedford draws workers from Lowell and beyond and has less tooth loss than most of Massachusetts, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Massachusetts.
48 miles of trail in 67 parks and preserves. Bedford’s trail density is 3.5 miles per square mile. Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, at 659 acres with 2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Old Reservoir | 3.5 mi | 64 |
| 2. Hartwell Town Forest | 2.4 mi | 120 |
| 3. Huckins Farm Conservation Restriction | 2.3 mi | 217 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.02M.
Its public schools are run by the Bedford school district. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bedford High, with 868 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Glenn MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 604 | A |
| Bedford HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 868 | A+ |
| Lt Job Lane SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 540 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 6.1% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
Bedford beats the Massachusetts average on 20 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 23% of adults have obesity in Bedford.
| Bedford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.6% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bedford | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.1% | 11.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 2.8% | 5.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
19,538 jobs are based in Bedford, 3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 32.4% of workers work from home, against 18.6% across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave Bedford for work: only 12% work in town. The median household income in Bedford is $172,000. Jobs based in Bedford grew to 19,538 in 2023, 2,533 more than in 2013.
| Bedford | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $172,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 9.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 8.8 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $1.02M) costs more against local pay than in 85% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The typical Bedford home is worth about $1,024,000, up 1.9% in a year, 56% above the Massachusetts typical home. 69% of Bedford households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Violent crime is rare: 12 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
96 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 86% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 96 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bedford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bedford has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 17° and about 59 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
46 within 15 miles of the center of Bedford
About 7 of every 100 Bedford residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Massachusetts.
15 places in Bedford on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Bedford.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the 2020 United States census. Bedford is a suburb of Boston, located about 21 miles (around 33.8 km) northwest.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Bedford.
| Town | MA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | #36 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
| Concord | #26 | A+ | D− | A− | A+ | A+ |
| Billerica | #89 | A− | D | A− | B− | A |
| Carlisle | #2 | A+ | B | A | A+ | A+ |
| Lincoln | #35 | A+ | D− | A+ | A | A+ |
| Pinehurst | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lexington | #10 | A+ | D | A | A+ | A+ |
| Burlington | #131 | B+ | D | C+ | B+ | A+ |
Pinehurst isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bedford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Bedford grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #36 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
6 notable people were born here, including Neera Tanden and Doug Coombs.
