The picture is mixed. Crime is the sore point (D): 44.5 violent and sexual offences and 20.3 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only 36% of UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more have more crime per resident. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: just over a quarter of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. A median £325,000 buys a home here, 5.4 times what households in the Bedford council area earn in a year. Overall, that makes a C−, good for #30 of 33 in Bedfordshire. That leaves it better than 24% of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Bedford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bedford.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C
5.8% of 16 to 64s in Bedford claim unemployment benefits, more than in both Bedfordshire’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 26% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, about level with England’s towns (27%) and above Bedfordshire’s towns (20%). Work in town: half of resident commuters. For every resident in work, Bedford has 1.1 jobs.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
SchoolsC
Results at Bedford’s schools trail 73% of towns in England
Some 14,732 pupils attend Bedford’s 19 primaries and seven secondaries. Goldington Academy’s results beat nearly four in five schools in England like it. Three of its 28 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. GCSE results at the town’s 6 secondary schools: 41% of pupils get a strong pass (grade 5+) in English and maths, and the Attainment 8 average is 44.3.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 28 schools →
Safety
More crimes per resident in Bedford than in 91% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Reported offences in Bedford came to 10,561 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 1,834. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 18.6 reports per 1,000, above Bedfordshire’s towns (10.2) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Violence and sexual offences were just over two fifths of the crimes.
44.5violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 36% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual4,293
Shoplifting1,451
Public order843
Other theft769
Vehicle crime729
Damage & arson727
Drugs484
Burglary367
Anti-social1,834
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
44.5
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
20.3
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
18.6
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Health
Lifespans in Bedford run shorter than in 82% of UK towns
8 GP practices serve the town; 71% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. 16% of residents in Bedford live with a disability. The nearest A&E to Bedford is Bedford Hospital, 0.9 miles away.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
History
9 Grade I buildings among Bedford’s 166 listed
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 23% of homes were built. Bedford’s listed buildings include the Church of St John and associated boundary walls and gates, Grade I. Grade II* covers 11 of them, Grade I 9.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B
More households rent privately in Bedford than in Bedfordshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 25%
54% of households own their home, below Bedfordshire’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) alike. Private rents average £1,173 a month across the Bedford council area. Social renters account for 19% of households.
£325Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Bedford£325K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£500,000
752
Semi-detached
£335,000
944
Terraced
£280,000
739
Flat or maisonette
£165,000
499
54%
of households own their home · England 61%
25%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,173
average private rent a month, Bedford council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
A typical mix of ages for England
Children under 15 make up 18% of residents. Line up the people of Bedford by age and the one in the middle is 38.4. Degrees are held by just over a third of adults, about level with both Bedfordshire’s towns (32%) and England’s towns (34%).
38.4median age
BedfordBedfordshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications19%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level34%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
About the middle for its size: 64% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades D.
How many listed buildings are there in Bedford?
Its Grade I buildings include Church of St John and associated boundary walls and gates. It also has 4 scheduled monuments.
About Bedford
Large town in Bedfordshire, England
Bedford is a built-up area of 97,226 people, in the Bedford council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Population
97,226 (Census 2021)
Council
Bedford
County
Bedfordshire
Region
East of England
Area
8.6 sq mi (22.3 km²)
ONS code
E63003597
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
