Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bedford's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades B−, 619th of 987 graded towns in Ohio. It reports less crime per resident than 75% of U.S. towns and it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 7 places on the National Register. Bedford’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile, above both the Ohio town median (0.2) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Only 138 of Ohio’s 1,560 towns score lower on civic life. The biggest place to walk is Bedford Reservation, 622 acres with 6.6 miles of trail.
Where Bedford beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,853 in 1850, a low of 768 in 1880, 13,149 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1896 and 5 maps from 1903 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), 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 draw12 mi MuseumRock and Roll Hall of Fame580K visitors a year
in town National ParkCuyahoga Valley National Park3.0M visitors a year
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaProgressive Field
12 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Field
11 mi Stadium & arenaRocket Arena
9 mi MuseumCleveland Museum of Art410K visitors a yearRock and Roll Hall of Fame: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Progressive Field: Jsawczuk, Public domain · Huntington Bank Field: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 · Rocket Arena: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cleveland Museum of Art: zenbikescience, CC BY 2.0
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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Bedford.
Bedford is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bedford Reservation | 6.6 mi | 622 |
| 2. Cuyahoga Valley National Park | — | 426 |
| 3. FIrebird Athletic Complex | 0.1 mi | 31 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Bedford City school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bedford High School, with 836 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 406 | D |
| Bedford High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 836 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within OH on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 92% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bedford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.2 years of the Cleveland metro’s $71K median household income, the typical home (about $156K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
The typical Bedford home is worth about $156,000, up 1.5% in a year, 37% below the Ohio typical home. 59% of households own their home in Bedford, against 77% in Ohio’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns.
| Bedford | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,059 a month | $943 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The property crime rate in Bedford is 6.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Bedford | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Bedford for work: only 4% work in town. Bedford’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Bedford fell to 3,877 in 2023, 671 fewer than in 2013.
| Bedford | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4% | 6.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,120 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bedford’s, it is healthier than 58%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Bedford beats the Ohio average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 39% of adults feel lonely in Bedford.
| Bedford | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bedford | OH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12% | 15.3% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.8% | 8.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.7% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bedford has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 20° and about 64 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
11 within 15 miles of the center of Bedford
About 3 of every 100 Bedford residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
5.8% of the town is conserved land, across 7 parks and preserves.
7 places in Bedford on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Bedford.
City in Ohio, United States
Bedford is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,149 at the 2020 census. It is an eastern suburb of Cleveland.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Bedford.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Bedford Heights (C−) comes closest.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | #619 | B− | B− | A− | C | C |
| Walton Hills | — | — | C | — | C | B+ |
| Oakwood | #916 | C− | C+ | — | C | C− |
| Bedford Heights | #893 | C− | C+ | C+ | C | C− |
| Maple Heights | #918 | C− | C+ | — | C | D |
Walton Hills has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Walton Hills, Oakwood and Maple Heights report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bedford with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bedford grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #619 of 987 in Ohio. It grades C for health, A− for safety and C for schools.
That is 2.2 years of the area's median household income ($70,678 across the Cleveland, OH metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
11 notable people were born here, including Rodger Saffold and Augustus Herman Pettibone.
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