County profile

Bedford County

Pennsylvania · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
47,513
Median household income
$59,992
People below poverty
11.6%
Median home value
$179,000

Income

The median income of households in Bedford County, Pennsylvania was $59,992. An estimated 4.2% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 4.4% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 4.2
$10,000 to $14,999 4.4
$15,000 to $24,999 11.1
$25,000 to $34,999 10.2
$35,000 to $49,999 12.2
$50,000 to $74,999 17.1
$75,000 to $99,999 13.7
$100,000 to $149,999 17.2
$150,000 to $199,999 5.5
$200,000 or more 4.4

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 55492
Female 42104

An estimated 68.2% of households received earnings. An estimated 43.8% of households received Social Security and an estimated 29.1 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $22,953. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 68.2
Social Security 43.8
Retirement income 29.1
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 4.3
Cash public assistance income 2.6

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 11.6 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 13.9% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 10.1% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 11.4% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 11.6
Children under 18 years below poverty 13.9
People 65 years old and over below poverty 10.1
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 11.4

In 2020-2024, 15.8 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 26.7% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 50.4% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 22.4% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024, 92.2% had health insurance coverage and 7.8% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 63.7% and public coverage was 45.7%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 9.7%.


In 2020-2024, Bedford County, Pennsylvania had a total population of 47,513 - 23,786 (50.1%) females and 23,727 (49.9%) males. The median age was 47.5 years. An estimated 19.4% of the population was under 18 years, 26.2% was 19 to 44 years, 28.5% was 45 to 64 years, and 24 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 1212 1182
5 to 9 1466 1261
10 to 14 1169 1274
15 to 19 1339 1242
20 to 24 1245 1129
25 to 29 1302 1212
30 to 34 1342 1237
35 to 39 1318 1244
40 to 44 1202 1238
45 to 49 1345 1436
50 to 54 1684 1598
55 to 59 1808 1843
60 to 64 1967 1827
65 to 69 1923 1812
70 to 74 1225 1494
75 to 79 949 1215
80 to 84 703 718
85 and over 528 824

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 95.5% were White; 0.7% were Black or African American; 12.1% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.5% were Asian; 0.2% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 2.7% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 1.4% of the people in Bedford County, Pennsylvania were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 95.4% of the people in Bedford County, Pennsylvania were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 19,750 households in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. The average household size was 2.38 people.

Married-couple households made up 52.7% of the households in Bedford County, Pennsylvania while cohabiting couple households made up 6.6% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 23% of all households, while 17.7% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 14.1% of households were male householders living alone, and 16.3% were female householders living alone, for a total of 30.4% of all households.

In Bedford County, Pennsylvania, 23.4% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 40.9% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 52.7
Cohabiting Couples 6.6
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
17.7
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
23

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 53.7% of males and 54.7% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 28.8 22.2
Now married, except separated 53.7 54.7
Separated 1.3 1.6
Widowed 4.4 11.3
Divorced 11.8 10.2

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Bedford County, Pennsylvania, 714 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 52.4% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 98.8% of the people living in Bedford County, Pennsylvania were U.S. natives. 79.8% of the Bedford County, Pennsylvania population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 1.2% of Bedford County, Pennsylvania residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 56.2% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 66.5 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Bedford County, Pennsylvania come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Bedford County, Pennsylvania.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 32.1
Asia 32.8
Europe 26.8
Africa 1.9
Northern America 6.4
Oceania 0

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024, 3 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 0.8% of people at least five years old; 1.1% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 0.8
Other Indo-European languages 2
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.2
Other languages 0.1

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 93.1 % of the people at least one year old living in Bedford County, Pennsylvania were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 93.1
Different house, same county 4
Different county, same state 2
Different state 0.8
Abroad 0.2

Education

In 2020-2024, 90.5 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 16.1% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 9.5% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Bedford County, Pennsylvania was 8,175 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 396 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 6,543. College or graduate school enrollment was 1,236.

Educational Attainment of People in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 9.5
High school diploma or equivalency 48
Some college, no degree 15.8
Associate's degree 10.6
Bachelor's degree 10.4
Graduate or professional degree 5.7

Disability

In Bedford County, Pennsylvania, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 17.2 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 3.9% of people under 18 years old, to 13.6% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 36.6% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Bedford County, Pennsylvania, 55.1 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 42.7% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 83.1% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 11.5% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 5.3 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 18,066 83.1
Federal, state, or local government workers 2,497 11.5
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 1,147 5.3

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Bedford County, Pennsylvania worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 3.4
Construction 10
Manufacturing 13.4
Wholesale trade 2.4
Retail trade 14.7
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 8.1
Information 2.2
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 2.2
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 6.2
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 20.7
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 8.3
Other Services, except public administration 5
Public administration 3.3

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 6,695 30.8
Service occupations 3,590 16.5
Sales and office occupations 4,059 18.7
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 2,895 13.3
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 4,501 20.7

Commuting to Work

An estimated 79.3% of Bedford County, Pennsylvania workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 10.1% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 26.5 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 79.3
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 10.1
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.4
Walked 1.7
Other means 1
Worked from home 7.5

In 2020-2024, Bedford County, Pennsylvania had a total of 23,567 housing units. Of these housing units, 75.3% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 9.5% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 15.2% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 75.3
Apartments in multi-unit structures 9.5
Mobile homes 15.2
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

5.6% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 25.7% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Bedford County, Pennsylvania was 6 rooms, and of these housing units 66.6% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Bedford County, Pennsylvania had 19,750 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 3,817 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 77.5% while renters occupied 22.5%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.49 and in renter-occupied houses it was 2.

2.4% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 21.5% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 5.7% and another 28.9% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Bedford County, Pennsylvania:

House Heating Fuel Used in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 9.3
Electricity 26.5
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 49
All other fuels 14.4
No fuel used 0.6

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Bedford County, Pennsylvania was $179,000.

Of the owner-occupied households, 44.9 % had a mortgage. 55.1% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,312 and for owners without a mortgage it was $463.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Bedford County, Pennsylvania was $784. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.