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COUNTY

Bedford County

Pennsylvania · 47,480 residents (2025 est.) · 1,012 sq mi
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The short version

Bedford County is home to 47,513 people in Pennsylvania. The median age is 47.5, about 9 years above the US median. Four-year degrees are less common here than nationally, at 16% of adults. The foreign-born share is 1%. 78% of homes are owner-occupied. The typical home is worth $179,000, having more than doubled since 2000.

At a glance
Lower income
below the US median
US median: $82,259
Older
median age 47.5
US median: 38.9
Less educated
16% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 26%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Section 01

Population & growth

Total population
47,513
−5%since 2000
from 49,984 in 2000
47,480 in 2025 (Census Bureau estimate)
1990 – 2025
Population density
47 / sq mi
−4%since 2009
from 49 / sq mi in 2009
US average: 281
Median age
47.5
+20%since 2000
from 39.5 in 2000
US average: 38.9
Land area
1,012 sq mi
Population, 1990 – 2024
47K48K49K49K50K19902000201020202024Bedford County
202448K
1990201020202024
Age distribution, 2024
Under 55%(2,394)
US avg: 5.6%
5 to 95.7%(2,727)
US avg: 6%
10 to 145.1%(2,443)
US avg: 6.4%
15 to 195.4%(2,581)
US avg: 6.6%
20 to 245%(2,374)
US avg: 6.5%
25 to 3410.7%(5,093)
US avg: 13.7%
35 to 4410.5%(5,002)
US avg: 13.2%
45 to 5412.8%(6,063)
US avg: 12.2%
55 to 6415.7%(7,445)
US avg: 12.7%
65 to 7413.6%(6,454)
US avg: 10.2%
75 to 847.5%(3,585)
US avg: 5.1%
85 and over2.8%(1,352)
US avg: 1.9%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 02

Income & economy

Median household income
$59,992
+1%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $32,731 in 2000
US average: $82,259
1990 – 2024
Per capita income
$32,665
+100%since 2000
from $16,316 in 2000
US average: $44,673
Households earning $100K+
40.9%
+24.2 ptssince 2009
from 16.7% in 2009
US average: 53.3%
Poverty rate
11.6%
+1.3 ptssince 2000
from 10.3% in 2000
US average: 12.5%
Income inequality (Gini)
0.431
+6%since 2010
from 0.408 in 2010
US average: 0.476
Workforce by industry, 2024
Information14.7%
US avg: 10.8%
Retail trade13.4%
US avg: 9.9%
Wholesale trade10%
US avg: 6.9%
Finance & insurance8.1%
US avg: 5.9%
Professional, scientific, technical6.9%
US avg: 5.1%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing3.4%
US avg: 1.6%
Construction2.9%
US avg: 1.2%
Transportation & warehousing2.4%
US avg: 2.2%
Arts, entertainment, food2.2%
US avg: 1.9%
Other services2.2%
US avg: 6.7%
Public administration1.7%
US avg: 4.8%
Education & health services1.2%
US avg: 0.9%
Manufacturing0.6%
US avg: 0.4%
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Section 03

Housing

Median home value
$179,000
+26%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $77,900 in 2000
US average: $376,019
1990 – 2024
Median gross rent
$784
+7%inflation adjusted, since 2000
from $401 in 2000
US average: $1,442
Owner-occupied
77.5%
−2.6 ptssince 2000
from 80.1% in 2000
22.5% rent
Vacancy rate
16.2%
−1.6 ptssince 2009
from 17.8% in 2009
US average: 10.0%
Persons per household
2.38 people
−2%since 2009
from 2.44 people in 2009
US average: 2.54
Owner cost-burdened
17.4%
−5.0 ptssince 2009
from 22.4% in 2009
US average: 22.9%
Renter cost-burdened
41.2%
+6.2 ptssince 2009
from 35.0% in 2009
US average: 47.4%
Afford Score
3.0
+7%since 2009
from 2.8 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Years of local income it takes to buy a local home, on a scale of about 0 to 15. Lower is more affordable.
Gentrification Score
32
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means faster recent growth in incomes, home values, and college degrees.
Section 04

Race & ethnicity

2000
White, non-Hispanic98.2%(49,089)
Black0.3%(167)
Hispanic / Latino0.5%(263)
Asian0.3%(142)
Other0%
2024
White, non-Hispanic95.4%(45,325)
Black0.7%(339)
Hispanic / Latino1.4%(644)
Asian0.5%(214)
Other2.1%(991)
Diversity Score
11
+94%since 2009
from 6 in 2009
2009 – 2024
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means a more even mix of racial and ethnic groups.
Segregation Score
20
+51%since 2020
from 14 in 2020
Our index, 0 to 100. Higher means White and non-White residents are more separated across neighborhoods.
Section 04 · Origins

Detailed origins & ancestry

Hispanic origin
Mexican0.6%(299)
Puerto Rican0.2%(93)
Guatemalan0.1%(28)
Colombian0%(20)
Spaniard0%(12)
Cuban0%(3)
+ 1 more hispanic origin group with data
Asian origin
Filipino0.1%(64)
Sri Lankan0.1%(54)
Vietnamese0.1%(27)
Nepalese0.1%(25)
Korean0%(16)
Chinese0%(8)
Pacific Islander origin
Samoan0%(4)
Ancestry
German30.3%(14,402)
Irish11%(5,204)
English10.3%(4,880)
American7%(3,312)
Italian3.3%(1,588)
Polish2%(939)
French2%(928)
Scottish1.6%(771)
Swiss1%(498)
Welsh1%(495)
Dutch1%(464)
Scotch-Irish0.6%(271)
+ 28 more ancestry groups with data
Hungarian0.4%(185)
Slovak0.4%(183)
Russian0.3%(157)
Greek0.3%(149)
Swedish0.3%(127)
Norwegian0.2%(92)
Lithuanian0.2%(75)
British0.1%(70)
Croatian0.1%(70)
Slovene0.1%(66)
Danish0.1%(64)
Ukrainian0.1%(62)
Austrian0.1%(41)
Czech0.1%(34)
Portuguese0.1%(33)
Serbian0%(22)
Arab0%(20)
Finnish0%(19)
Canadian0%(14)
Syrian0%(10)
Belgian0%(7)
Section 05

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher
16.1%
+5.8 ptssince 2000
from 10.2% in 2000
US average: 35.6%
High school or higher
90.5%
+12.2 ptssince 2000
from 78.3% in 2000
US average: 89.6%
Graduate degree
5.7%
+2.1 ptssince 2000
from 3.6% in 2000
US average: 14.0%
Section 06

Commute & transportation

Average commute
26.5 min
+43%since 2000
from 18.6 min in 2000
US average: 26.5
Drive alone to work
79.3%
−1.2 ptssince 2009
from 80.5% in 2009
US average: 68.9%
Carpooled to work
10.1%
−1.0 ptssince 2009
from 11.1% in 2009
US average: 8.5%
Public transit
0.4%
+0.3 ptssince 2009
from 0.2% in 2009
US average: 3.2%
Worked from home
7.5%
+3.5 ptssince 2009
from 4.0% in 2009
US average: 15.0%
Walked to work
1.7%
−1.4 ptssince 2009
from 3.1% in 2009
US average: 2.4%
Biked to work
0.3%
+0.1 ptssince 2009
from 0.2% in 2009
US average: 0.4%
No vehicle available
5.7%
−0.3 ptssince 2009
from 6.0% in 2009
US average: 8.3%
Section 07

Work & employment

Unemployment rate
3.9%
−3.6 ptssince 2011
from 7.5% in 2011
US average: 5.2%
Labor force participation
57.3%
−2.5 ptssince 2011
from 59.8% in 2011
US average: 63.5%
Women 20-64 in the labor force
69.9%
+0.3 ptssince 2020
from 69.6% in 2020
US average: 74.6%
Self-employed
10.4%
+1.1 ptssince 2009
from 9.3% in 2009
US average: 13.1%
Management & professional
30.8%
+7.9 ptssince 2009
from 22.9% in 2009
US average: 42.5%
Section 08

People & community

Male
49.9%
+0.4 ptssince 2009
from 49.6% in 2009
Female
50.1%
−0.4 ptssince 2009
from 50.4% in 2009
Foreign born
1.2%
+0.6 ptssince 2009
from 0.7% in 2009
US average: 14.1%
Veterans
7.9%
−4.5 ptssince 2009
from 12.4% in 2009
US average: 6.2%
With a disability
17.2%
+0.4 ptssince 2012
from 16.8% in 2012
US average: 13.3%
Uninsured
7.8%
−3.8 ptssince 2013
from 11.6% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Broadband at home
83.1%
+14.1 ptssince 2017
from 69.0% in 2017
US average: 91.0%
Computer in household
87.2%
+5.1 ptssince 2020
from 82.1% in 2020
US average: 95.5%
Same house as last year
93.1%
+2.1 ptssince 2020
from 90.9% in 2020
US average: 87.7%
English only at home
97.0%
−0.3 ptssince 2016
from 97.3% in 2016
US average: 77.7%
Spanish at home
0.8%
Unchangedsince 2016
from 0.7% in 2016
US average: 13.6%
Marital status
Men 15+
Never married28.8%(5,728)
Married55%(10,938)
Widowed4.4%(869)
Divorced11.8%(2,345)
Women 15+
Never married22.2%(4,456)
Married56.3%(11,300)
Widowed11.3%(2,268)
Divorced10.2%(2,045)
SHARE WITHIN EACH SEX · POPULATION 15 AND OVER · 2024
Section 09

Health coverage

Uninsured
7.8%
−3.8 ptssince 2013
from 11.6% in 2013
US average: 8.4%
Employer-based
49.2%
−2.2 ptssince 2020
from 51.4% in 2020
US average: 54.8%
Direct-purchase
15.1%
−2.5 ptssince 2020
from 17.6% in 2020
US average: 13.8%
Medicare
25.7%
+0.2 ptssince 2020
from 25.5% in 2020
US average: 18.4%
Medicaid
23.0%
+1.5 ptssince 2020
from 21.5% in 2020
US average: 20.9%
VA health care
3.3%
+0.1 ptssince 2020
from 3.2% in 2020
US average: 2.2%
Any private
63.7%
−4.0 ptssince 2020
from 67.7% in 2020
US average: 67.1%
Any public
45.7%
+2.2 ptssince 2020
from 43.5% in 2020
US average: 36.7%

Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.

Section 09 · Service history

Veterans

Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)22.1%(668)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)17.8%(538)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era40.2%(1,217)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War5.4%(164)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II1.1%(33)
US avg: 1%

Share of the 3,025 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.

BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Drill deeper

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Head to head

Compare Bedford County to nearby counties

BEDFORD COUNTY VS
Fulton County
Income$65,836+10%
Home value$208,500+16%
Population14,483−69%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
BEDFORD COUNTY VS
Somerset County
Income$61,446+2%
Home value$150,600−16%
Population72,004+52%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
BEDFORD COUNTY VS
Allegany County
Income$59,603−1%
Home value$154,900−13%
Population66,848+41%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
BEDFORD COUNTY VS
Morgan County
Income$72,179+20%
Home value$240,600+34%
Population18,027−62%
SEE FULL COMPARISON →
Frequently asked

How many people live in Bedford County, Pennsylvania?

Bedford County, Pennsylvania has about 47,513 residents according to the 2024 American Community Survey.

What is the median household income in Bedford County, Pennsylvania?

The typical household in Bedford County, Pennsylvania earns about $59,992 a year. Half of households make more than that, and half make less.

Is Bedford County, Pennsylvania expensive?

In Bedford County, Pennsylvania, the median home is worth about $179,000, and the typical rent is about $784 a month.

How educated are people in Bedford County, Pennsylvania?

About 16.1% of adults age 25 and over in Bedford County, Pennsylvania hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

What is the poverty rate in Bedford County, Pennsylvania?

About 11.6% of people in Bedford County, Pennsylvania live below the federal poverty line.

Has Bedford County, Pennsylvania grown since 1990?

Yes, Bedford County, Pennsylvania has shrunk since 1990. The population has lost about 406 residents, a change of about -1 percent over that period.

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DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR + DECENNIAL CENSUS · UPDATED 2024

How we source and harmonize this data →