Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 23,973, settled in 1750.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Bedford earns an A, 10th of 125 graded towns in New Hampshire. The median household earns $167K, CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 96% of the country, and its schools outperform 91% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $760K, 7.3 years of the Manchester metro’s $104K median household income. Bedford’s median household income is $167,000, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at $103,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000. Bedford has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bedford Town Hall and Bedford Presbyterian Church. Only 6 of the 126 New Hampshire towns we compare have a higher share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Bedford.
Where Bedford beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Bedford | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.2% | 9.5% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Riddle Brook School | K–4 | 478 |
| Memorial School | PK–4 | 439 |
| Peter Woodbury School | K–4 | 428 |
Census counts: 898 in 1790, a low of 898 in 1790, 23,322 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 4 maps from 1906 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Bedford is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 7%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bedford. Close and well known come first.
36 mi LakeWalden Pond
29 mi MountainMount Monadnock
18 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
18 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake Park
5 mi Stadium & arenaSNHU Arena
6 mi MuseumCurrier Museum of ArtWalden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Monadnock: Jonwmcinenrey, CC BY-SA 4.0 · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0 · SNHU Arena: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Currier Museum of Art: Struthious Bandersnatch, CC BY-SA 3.0
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 19, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bedford.
Bedford has schools in the top 5% of New Hampshire and draws workers from Manchester and beyond, but it has seen reported crime rise by a third or more.
Against the 1,782 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bedford’s, it is healthier than 73%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
7.9% of Bedford adults smoke cigarettes. Among 126 New Hampshire towns, just 8 have a lower share of adults who worry about having enough food than Bedford.
| Bedford | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.9% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 19% |
| What stands out | Bedford | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.2% | 9.5% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.6% | 6.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
That grade ranks #5 of the 126 New Hampshire towns we grade for schools. It comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $761K.
Its public schools are run by the Bedford School District. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. 3 public schools serve Bedford, with 1,345 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ross A. Lurgio Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 646 | A |
| Bedford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,360 | A |
| Riddle Brook SchoolTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 478 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
19,242 jobs are based in Bedford, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 14,161 in 2013 to 19,242.
Most people who work leave Bedford to do it: just 15% work in town. Among workers locally, 27% work from home. Since 2013, Bedford has added 5,081 jobs, to 19,242 in 2023. The top destinations are Manchester (21%), Nashua (8%) and Merrimack (6%).
| Bedford | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 16% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 7.3 years of the Manchester metro’s $104K median household income, the typical home (about $761K) costs more against local pay than in 92% of New Hampshire towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Amherst is next at $656K.
Bedford’s midpoint rent is $2,099 a month. Typical home values rose 2.1% in the year to September 2026. In Bedford, 83% of households are owner-occupiers.
| Bedford | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,099 a month | $1,382 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 83% | 82% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes rose from 139 to 200 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Bedford sits closer to the middle. The level of violent crime for Bedford comes to 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Bedford | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Milford weather station, 9 miles away, records that 57 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 84% of New Hampshire places with climate records. The Milford weather station, 9 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 156 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 77% of New Hampshire places with climate records.
July afternoons reach 83° and January nights drop to 14°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Pulpit Rock Conservation Area, at 330 acres with 4.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Across 31 parks and preserves: 28 miles of trail. The concentration of trails in Bedford is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Bedford | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.2% | 18% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pulpit Rock Conservation Area | 4.8 mi | 330 |
| 2. Florence M. Tarr Wildlife Sanctuary | 3.2 mi | 250 |
| 3. Marston-Dunlap Conservation Area | 2 mi | 71 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Households in Bedford have drawn federal disaster aid in 11 declared disasters, most recently in 2015. Compared with 65% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage locally is lower. Flood insurance has paid out on 17 claims locally since 2003. Three fifths of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by hurricanes at 18%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
8 within 15 miles of the center of Bedford
About 5 of every 100 Bedford residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Hampshire.
Where Bedford’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Bedford on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Bedford.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Bedford is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 23,322, reflecting a growth of 10% from 2010. Bedford is a suburb of Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Bedford.
At #10 in NH, it grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; New Boston (A) comes closest.
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | #10 | A | D | A− | A | A+ |
| Manchester | #120 | C− | C− | C | D− | B+ |
| Goffstown | #14 | A | C+ | A | B+ | A |
| Amherst | #21 | A | C | A− | B+ | A+ |
| Merrimack | #47 | B+ | D | A | B− | A |
| New Boston | #12 | A | C+ | A+ | A | A |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Bedford grades A overall, better than 95% of U.S. towns and #10 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Bedford sits nearer the middle.
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.
16 notable people were born here, including Zachariah Chandler and Laura Silverman.
