County population in 2014: 76,583 (22% urban, 78% rural); it was 60,371 in 2000County owner-occupied with a mortgage or a loan houses and condos in 2010: 15,592 County owner-occupied free and clear houses and condos in 2010: 7,639 County owner-occupied houses and condos in 2000: 20,640 Renter-occupied apartments: 4,234 (it was 3,198 in 2000)
% of renters here:
13%
State:
33%
Land area: 755 sq. mi.
Water area: 14.8 sq. mi.
Population density: 102 people per square mile (average).
Mar. 2016 cost of living index in Bedford County: 86.5 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)
Industries providing employment: Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services (24.5%), Educational, health and social services (14.7%), Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing (11.1%).
Estimated median household income in 2015: $54,062 ($43,136 in 1999)
This county:
$54,062
Virginia:
$66,262
Median contract rent in 2015 for apartments: $574 (lower quartile is $427, upper quartile is $755)
This county:
$574
State:
$959
Estimated median house or condo value in 2015: $198,500 (it was $116,100 in 2000)
Bedford:
$198,500
Virginia:
$257,800
Lower value quartile - upper value quartile: $123,700 - $293,600 Median monthly housing costs for homes and condos with a mortgage: $1,255 Median monthly housing costs for units without a mortgage: $330
Institutionalized population: 225
Crime in 2005 (reported by the sheriff's office or county police, not the county total):
Murders: 1
Rapes: 10
Robberies: 5
Assaults: 45
Burglaries: 139
Thefts: 558
Auto thefts: 33
Crime in 2004 (reported by the sheriff's office or county police, not the county total):
Murders: 0
Rapes: 13
Robberies: 2
Assaults: 41
Burglaries: 145
Thefts: 500
Auto thefts: 35
Single-family new house construction building permits:
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2015: $1,054 (0.5%) Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2015: $1,011 (0.6%)
Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2015: 8.2%
(7.2% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 25.2% for Black residents, 13.2% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 70.5% for other race residents, 22.4% for two or more races residents)
Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2015: 8.2%
Bedford County:
8.2%
Virginia:
11.2%
(7.2% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 24.1% for Black residents, 12.0% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 57.6% for other race residents, 20.5% for two or more races residents)
Median age of residents in 2015: 46 years old
(Males: 45 years old, Females: 46 years old)
(Median age for: White residents: 46 years old, Black residents: 44 years old, American Indian residents: 49 years old, Asian residents: 34 years old, Hispanic or Latino residents: 24 years old, Other race residents: 54 years old)
Area name: Lynchburg, VA MSA Fair market rent in 2006 for a 1-bedroom apartment in Bedford County is $443 a month. Fair market rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $534 a month. Fair market rent for a 3-bedroom apartment is $658 a month.
Current college students: 1,752 People 25 years of age or older with a high school degree or higher: 80.1% People 25 years of age or older with a bachelor's degree or higher: 20.9%
Number of foreign born residents: 1,098 (58% naturalized citizens)
Bedford County:
1.8%
Whole state:
8.1%
Year of entry for the foreign-born population
1995 to March 2000: 168
1990 to 1994: 115
1985 to 1989: 88
1980 to 1984: 172
1975 to 1979: 75
1970 to 1974: 60
1970 to 1974: 110
1965 to 1969: 310
Note: State values scaled to Bedford County population
Mean travel time to work (commute): 27.8 minutes
Percentage of county residents living and working in this county: 22.5%
Housing units in structures:
One, detached: 19,960
One, attached: 666
Two: 223
3 or 4: 219
5 to 9: 491
10 to 19: 60
20 or more: 115
Mobile homes: 5,041
Boats, RVs, vans, etc.: 66
Housing units in Bedford County with a mortgage: 9,746 (983 second mortgage, 1,595 home equity loan, 40 both second mortgage and home equity loan) Houses without a mortgage: 4,177
Here:
70.0% with mortgage
State:
75.1% with mortgage
Religion statistics for Bedford County
Religion
Adherents
Congregations
Evangelical Protestant
20,822
64
Mainline Protestant
5,052
40
Catholic
2,119
2
Other
13
-
None
40,670
-
Bedford County Religion Details
Source: Clifford Grammich, Kirk Hadaway, Richard Houseal, Dale E.Jones, Alexei Krindatch, Richie Stanley and Richard H.Taylor. 2012. 2010 U.S.Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study. Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies. Jones, Dale E., et al. 2002. Congregations and Membership in the United States 2000. Nashville, TN: Glenmary Research Center.
Food Environment Statistics:
Number of grocery stores: 7
Bedford County:
1.05 / 10,000 pop.
State:
2.03 / 10,000 pop.
Number of supercenters and club stores: 1
Here:
0.15 / 10,000 pop.
Virginia:
0.17 / 10,000 pop.
Number of convenience stores (no gas): 7
This county:
1.05 / 10,000 pop.
Virginia:
1.43 / 10,000 pop.
Number of convenience stores (with gas): 18
Bedford County:
2.70 / 10,000 pop.
Virginia:
4.03 / 10,000 pop.
Number of full-service restaurants: 28
This county:
4.21 / 10,000 pop.
State:
7.65 / 10,000 pop.
Adult diabetes rate:
Bedford County:
8.6%
Virginia:
9.3%
Adult obesity rate:
Bedford County:
27.1%
State:
26.7%
Agriculture in Bedford County:
Average size of farms: 155 acres Average value of agricultural products sold per farm: $15,031 Average value of crops sold per acre for harvested cropland: $68.47 The value of nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod as a percentage of the total market value of agricultural products sold: 6.37% The value of livestock, poultry, and their products as a percentage of the total market value of agricultural products sold: 81.59% Average total farm production expenses per farm: $15,034 Harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 26.15% Irrigated harvested cropland as a percentage of land in farms: 1.18% Average market value of all machinery and equipment per farm: $38,030 The percentage of farms operated by a family or individual: 90.92% Average age of principal farm operators: 59 years Average number of cattle and calves per 100 acres of all land in farms: 23.44 Milk cows as a percentage of all cattle and calves: 3.94% Corn for grain: 746 harvested acres All wheat for grain: 441 harvested acres Vegetables: 15 harvested acres Land in orchards: 368 acres
Earthquake activity:
Bedford County-area historical earthquake activity is near Virginia state average. It is 83% smaller than the overall U.S. average.
On 12/9/2003 at 20:59:14, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 MB, 4.5 LG, Depth: 3.1 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 92.7 miles away from Bedford County center On 7/27/1980 at 18:52:21, a magnitude 5.2 (5.1 MB, 4.7 MS, 5.0 UK, 5.2 UK, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 248.0 miles away from the county center On 9/25/1998 at 19:52:52, a magnitude 5.2 (4.8 MB, 4.3 MS, 5.2 LG, 4.5 MW, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 293.0 miles away from the county center On 11/2/2006 at 17:53:02, a magnitude 4.3 (4.3 MB, Depth: 0.6 mi) earthquake occurred 130.5 miles away from the county center On 11/23/2006 at 10:42:57, a magnitude 4.3 (4.3 MB, 4.3 LG) earthquake occurred 133.8 miles away from Bedford County center On 10/21/1998 at 05:56:47, a magnitude 3.8 (3.8 LG, 3.3 LG, Depth: 8.3 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: II - III) earthquake occurred 65.4 miles away from the county center Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)
Most recent natural disasters:
Virginia Severe Storms and Straight-line Winds, Incident Period: June 29, 2012 to July 01, 2012, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-4072: July 27, 2012, FEMA Id: 4072, Natural disaster type: Storm, Wind
Virginia Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm, Incident Period: December 18, 2009 to December 20, 2009, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1874: February 16, 2010, FEMA Id: 1874, Natural disaster type: Snowstorm, Winter Storm
Virginia Hurricane Katrina Evacuation, Incident Period: August 29, 2005 to October 01, 2005, Emergency Declared EM-3240: September 12, 2005, FEMA Id: 3240, Natural disaster type: Hurricane
Virginia Hurricane Isabel, Incident Period: September 18, 2003 to October 01, 2003, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1491: September 18, 2003, FEMA Id: 1491, Natural disaster type: Hurricane
Virginia Severe Storms and Tornado, Incident Period: April 28, 2002 to May 03, 2002, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1411: May 05, 2002, FEMA Id: 1411, Natural disaster type: Storm, Tornado
Virginia Winter Storm, Incident Period: January 25, 2000 to January 30, 2000, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1318: February 28, 2000, FEMA Id: 1318, Natural disaster type: Winter Storm
Virginia Hurricane Fran, Incident Period: September 05, 1996 to September 23, 1996, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1135: September 06, 1996, FEMA Id: 1135, Natural disaster type: Hurricane
Virginia Blizzard, Incident Period: January 06, 1996 to January 12, 1996, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1086: January 13, 1996, FEMA Id: 1086, Natural disaster type: Blizzard
Virginia Severe Storm, Flooding, Incident Period: June 22, 1995 to July 07, 1995, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1059: July 01, 1995, FEMA Id: 1059, Natural disaster type: Storm, Flood
Virginia Ice Storm, Winter Storm, Severe Storm, Incident Period: March 01, 1994 to March 05, 1994, Major Disaster (Presidential) Declared DR-1021: April 11, 1994, FEMA Id: 1021, Natural disaster type: Ice Storm, Winter Storm, Storm
9 other natural disasters have been reported since 1953.
The number of natural disasters in Bedford County (19) is greater than the US average (13). Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 15 Emergencies Declared: 4
Causes of natural disasters: Storms: 9, Floods: 6, Winter Storms: 4, Hurricanes: 3, Droughts: 2, Ice Storms: 2, Blizzard: 1, Snowstorm: 1, Tornado: 1, Tropical Storm: 1, Wind: 1 (Note: Some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (11%)
Construction and extraction occupations (9%)
Transportation occupations (8%)
Sales and related occupations (8%)
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations (5%)
Office and administrative support occupations (21%)
Sales and related occupations (13%)
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners and other technical occupations (9%)
Healthcare support occupations (8%)
Education, training, and library occupations (8%)
Management occupations (7%)
Production occupations (6%)
Most common places of birth for the foreign-born residents (%):
United Kingdom (11%)
Germany (11%)
Canada (10%)
India (8%)
Philippines (5%)
Laos (5%)
Colombia (5%)
Most common first ancestries reported in Bedford County (%):
United States or American (28%)
English (16%)
German (11%)
Irish (10%)
Scotch-Irish (3%)
Italian (3%)
Scottish (2%)
Means of transportation to work:
Drove a car alone: 25,490 (85%)
Carpooled: 3,138 (10%)
Bus or trolley bus: 25 (0%)
Subway or elevated: 16 (0%)
Railroad: 8 (0%)
Ferryboat: 9 (0%)
Taxi: 25 (0%)
Motorcycle: 12 (0%)
Bicycle: 5 (0%)
Walked: 185 (1%)
Other means: 123 (0%)
Worked at home: 895 (3%)
Owners and renters by unit type in %
Breakdown of mean house values by ages of householders ($)
People in group quarters in Bedford County, Virginia in 2000:
148 people in other noninstitutional group quarters
93 people in local jails and other confinement facilities (including police lockups)
88 people in nursing homes
22 people in homes or halfway houses for drug/alcohol abuse
21 people in homes for the mentally retarded
3 people in other nonhousehold living situations
People in group quarters in Bedford County, Virginia in 2010:
127 people in nursing facilities/skilled-nursing facilities
75 people in correctional residential facilities
46 people in group homes intended for adults
16 people in residential treatment centers for juveniles (non-correctional)
10 people in residential treatment centers for adults
7 people in group homes for juveniles (non-correctional)
6 people in workers' group living quarters and job corps centers
Average gross adjusted income of non-migrant taxpayers in this county in 2010 was $61,032.
6.91% of this county's 2011 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2010 ($50,438 average adjusted gross income)
Here:
6.91%
Virginia average:
9.34%
10 or fewer of this county's residents moved from foreign countries.
5.06% relocated from other counties in Virginia ($33,842 average AGI)
1.84% relocated from other states ($16,595 average AGI)
Bedford County:
1.84%
Virginia average:
3.74%
Percentage of residents relocating from other counties or countries
Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2010 and 2011:
6.35% of this county's 2010 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2011 ($39,889 average adjusted gross income)
Here:
6.35%
Virginia average:
9.20%
10 or fewer of this county's residents moved to foreign countries.
4.49% relocated to other counties in Virginia ($24,857 average AGI)
1.86% relocated to other states ($15,032 average AGI)
Bedford County:
1.86%
Virginia average:
3.60%
Percentage of residents relocating to other counties or countries
Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2010 and 2011:
Percentage of population without health insurance coverage in Bedford County
Persons enrolled in hospital insurance and/or supplemental medical insurance (Medicare) in July 1, 2007: 11,720 (9,649 aged, 2,071 disabled) Children under 18 without health insurance coverage in 2007: 1,704 (12%)
Persons enrolled in hospital insurance and/or supplemental medical insurance (Medicare)
Aged persons enrolled in hospital insurance and/or supplemental medical insurance (Medicare)
Disabled persons enrolled in hospital insurance and/or supplemental medical insurance (Medicare)
Most common underlying causes of death in Bedford County, Virginia in 1999 - 2014:
Bronchus or lung, unspecified - Malignant neoplasms (667)
Stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction (297)
Alzheimer's disease, unspecified (232)
Congestive heart failure (184)
Pneumonia, unspecified (169)
Breast, unspecified - Malignant neoplasms (159)
Population without health insurance coverage in 2000: 9% Children under 18 without health insurance coverage in 2000: 5%
General practice office based MDs per 100,000 population in 2005: 960 Medical specialist MDs per 100,000 population in 2005: 728 Dentists per 100,000 population in 1998: 2
Total births per 100,000 population, July 2005 - July 2006 : 11 Total deaths per 100,000 population, July 2005 - July 2006: 31
Limited-service eating places per 100,000 population in 2005 : 5
Suicides per 1,000,000 population from 2000 to 2006: 132.6. This is more than state average.
Mechanisms of suicide:
Deaths per 1,000,000 population:
Firearm - 89.2
Other - 43.4
Household type by relationship:
Households: 68,389
In family households: 59,912 (16,038 male householders, 4,280 female householders)
17,025 spouses, 18,513 children (16,904 natural, 519 adopted, 1,090 stepchildren), 1,311 grandchildren, 347 brothers or sisters, 452 parents, 400 other relatives, 1,176 non-relatives
In nonfamily households: 8,477 (3,518 male householders (2,866 living alone)), 3,629 female householders (3,151 living alone)), 1,330 nonrelatives
In group quarters: 287 (225 institutionalized population)
Size of family households: 10,205 2-persons, 4,394 3-persons, 3,455 4-persons, 1,513 5-persons, 505 6-persons, 246 7-or-more-persons.
11,230 married couples with children.
2,200 single-parent households (649 men, 1,551 women).
97.2% of residents of Bedford County speak English at home.
1.1% of residents speak Spanish at home (58% speak English very well, 13% speak English well, 26% speak English not well, 3% don't speak English at all).
1.1% of residents speak other Indo-European language at home (84% speak English very well, 14% speak English well, 1% speak English not well, 1% don't speak English at all).
0.5% of residents speak Asian or Pacific Island language at home (51% speak English very well, 33% speak English well, 15% speak English not well).
0.1% of residents speak other language at home (100% speak English very well).
In fiscal year 2004:
Federal Government expenditure: $268,154,000 ($4,204 per capita) Department of Defense expenditure: $15,471,000 Federal direct payments to individuals for retirement and disability: $187,186,000 Federal other direct payments to individuals: $39,112,000 Federal direct payments not to individuals: $365,000 Federal grants: $23,205,000 Federal procurement contracts: $11,278,000 ($4,889,000 Department of Defense) Federal salaries and wages: $7,008,000 ($0,000 Department of Defense) Federal Government direct loans: $944,000 Federal guaranteed/insured loans: $37,520,000 Federal Government insurance: $15,901,000
Population change from April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005:
Births: 3,225
Here:
49 per 1000 residents
State:
70 per 1000 residents
Deaths: 2,582
Here:
40 per 1000 residents
State:
40 per 1000 residents
Net international migration: +135
Here:
+2 per 1000 residents
State:
+18 per 1000 residents
Net internal migration: +4,235
Here:
+65 per 1000 residents
State:
+14 per 1000 residents
Population growth in Bedford County
Total withdrawal of fresh water for public supply: 1.44 millions of gallons per day (10% from ground, 90% from surface)
Median number of rooms in houses and condos:
Here:
6.1
State:
6.6
Median number of rooms in apartments:
Here:
4.7
State:
4.3
Year house built
2014 or later: 227
2010 to 2013: 1,462
2000 to 2009: 6,217
1990 to 1999: 6,695
1980 to 1989: 6,753
1970 to 1979: 6,589
1960 to 1969: 2,503
1950 to 1959: 2,259
1940 to 1949: 1,373
1939 or earlier: 2,032
Note: State values scaled to Bedford population
Rooms in houses/apartments in Bedford County, Virginia
Note: State values scaled to Bedford County population
no vehicle: 716
1 vehicle: 3,607
2 vehicles: 8,984
3 vehicles: 4,967
4 vehicles: 1,766
5+ vehicles: 600
no vehicle: 218
1 vehicle: 1,539
2 vehicles: 1,095
3 vehicles: 255
4 vehicles: 55
5+ vehicles: 36
61% of Bedford County residents lived in the same house 5 years ago. Out of people who lived in different houses, 30% lived in this county. Out of people who lived in different counties, 69% lived in Virginia.
Bedford County:
60.7%
State average:
53.8%
Place of birth for U.S.-born residents:
This state: 41,708
Northeast: 5,983
Midwest: 3,283
South: 6,885
West: 1,147
Median price asked for vacant for-sale houses in 2000: $140,500
Housing units lacking complete plumbing facilities: 1%
Housing units lacking complete kitchen facilities: 1%
Year Householders Moved Into Unit
Most commonly used house heating fuel in Bedford County
Click here to upload your Bedford County photos (outside city limits)
44.0 years
37.0 years
(49.6%)
(50.4%)
, Dickenson County 
