Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bedford gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $182K, 3 years of the county’s $60K median household income. It grades A− overall, 340th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 84% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register. Bedford’s average trip to work is 15 minutes, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 26 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. On history, just 18 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do better. Bedford's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 89% of U.S. towns.
Where Bedford beats most towns.
Barclay House
Espy House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 257 in 1800, 2,865 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1758 and 2 maps from 1971 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Bedford is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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 pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
1.1 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Bedford’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Bedford | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fort Bedford Park | — | 5 |
| 2. Sports Park | — | 4 |
| 3. The Greens | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a B for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $182K.
Its public schools are run by Bedford Area SD. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Bedford SHS, with 495 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 414 | B− |
| Bedford SHSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 495 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
At 7.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 67% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 24 to 11 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Bedford is 0 per 1,000 residents.
| Bedford | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Bedford has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 20° and about 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,286 working residents takes 15.4 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
13% of residents live below the poverty line in Bedford. Most working residents leave Bedford for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Bedford Township (26%), Snake Spring Township (5%) and Altoona (2%).
| Bedford | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $41,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $493 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1983, 36 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bedford.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 2,800 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bedford’s, it is healthier than 94%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Bedford beats the Pennsylvania average on 2 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 38% of Bedford adults have high blood pressure.
| Bedford | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 80% | 79% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Bedford | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.7% | 14.5% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.5% | 79.2% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.2% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bedford. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi National MemorialFlight 93 National Memorial286K visitors a year
39 mi MountainMount Davis
27 mi DamSouth Fork Dam
39 mi LakeRaystown Lakein town MuseumFort Bedford
27 mi National Historic SiteAllegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site163K visitors a yearFlight 93 National Memorial: James Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mount Davis: Wikiuser100, CC BY-SA 3.0 · South Fork Dam: Ernest Walter Histed, Public domain · Raystown Lake: Tex Jobe, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain · Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: Matthew A. Lynn; Original uploader was Mosamiazaz at en.wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Bedford; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Bedford residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
4 places in Bedford on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Bedford.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Bedford is a borough, spa town, and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located 102 miles (164 km) west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and 107 miles (172 km) east of Pittsburgh. Bedford's population was 2,865 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bedford grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #340 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B− for health, A− for safety and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
18 notable people were born here, including George Washington Williams and Abraham Arnold.
