Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bedford Township’s strongest subject is schools: its schools rank ahead of 82% of Pennsylvania towns. The town’s overall B puts it 597th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. That leaves it better than 58% of U.S. towns. Homes run about $192K for a typical one, 3.2 times the county’s $60K median household income. The catch is walkability (C). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 74% of U.S. towns. State Game Lands Number 48, at 945 acres with 3.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · OpenStreetMap.
Where Bedford Township beats most towns.
Bedford Springs Hotel Historic District
Bedford Springs Hotel Historic District is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 257 in 1800, 2,865 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1758 and 2 maps from 1971 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Bedford Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bedford Township, 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 Township.
Bedford Township draws workers from Bedford and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Trails total 122 miles in 3 parks and preserves. Bedford Township’s trail network density is 1.8 miles per square mile, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (0.4) and U.S. towns (0.4).
| Bedford Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.8 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.7% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 48 | 3.2 mi | 945 |
| 2. Bedford County Fairgrounds | 0.3 mi | 79 |
| 3. Sports Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its two schools are below. Public schools: Bedford Area SD. 764 students attend Bedford Township’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 764 | B+ |
| Christian Light School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 1–12 | Grades 1–12 | 49 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
6,011 jobs are based in Bedford Township, 2.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 20.1 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Bedford Township rose by 1,411, to 6,011. The town’s typical journey to work is 20 minutes, below both the Pennsylvania town median (26 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). In Bedford Township, 1.9% of residents live below the poverty line. Half the trips to work are shorter than 11 miles.
| Bedford Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 29% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 1.9% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect July afternoons of 85° and January nights of 20°, with about 38 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
427 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 46 properties have flooded more than once.
Compared with 52% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Bedford Township is lower. Since 1978, 427 flood insurance claims have been paid out locally. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 86% come from inland flooding and 7% from hurricanes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 9,206 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bedford Township’s, it is healthier than 76%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Bedford Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 6. For adults locally, the share who have high blood pressure is 38%. Among adults in the town, 13% have diabetes and 80% had a checkup this year.
| Bedford Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 34% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 80% | 79% | 79% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bedford Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.7% | 79.2% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.3% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bedford Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi National MemorialFlight 93 National Memorial286K visitors a year
25 mi DamSouth Fork Dam
37 mi LakeRaystown Lake
24 mi National Historic SiteAllegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site163K visitors a year
29 mi Theme parkLakemont Park3 mi MuseumFort BedfordFlight 93 National Memorial: James Steakley, 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 · Lakemont Park: Bhakta Dano. Original uploader was Oldano at en.wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Bedford Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Bedford Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Bedford Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Bedford Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
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)
7 towns share a border with Bedford Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Township | #597 | B | B | — | A− | B− |
| Harrison Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Woodbury Township | — | — | A | — | A− | C+ |
| Snake Spring Township | — | — | C+ | — | A− | C |
| Colerain Township | — | — | A− | — | A− | B− |
| Napier Township | — | — | B | — | A | C+ |
| East St. Clair Township | #710 | B− | B | — | A | B− |
| Cumberland Valley Township | — | — | C+ | — | A− | B− |
South Woodbury Township, Snake Spring Township, Colerain Township, Napier Township and Cumberland Valley Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Bedford Township, South Woodbury Township, Snake Spring Township, Colerain Township, Napier Township, East St. Clair Township and Cumberland Valley Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Harrison Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bedford Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bedford Township grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #597 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B− for health 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.
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