county

Bedford County, PA

Demographic and economic profile of Bedford County, PA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Bedford County is a small rural Pennsylvania county of 47,503 residents with a median age of 47.5 years, low educational attainment (16.3% hold a bachelor's degree or higher), and a labor force participation rate of just 58.8%, reflecting an older, largely blue-collar workforce earning median wages of $37,602. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $172,900 and median gross rent of $771/month, against a median household income of $59,992. The county's population has declined 2.3% over five years, unemployment stands at 4.2%, and GDP per capita of $30,995 underscores a modest economic base.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

47,503

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$59,992

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

47.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.3% since 2018

Bedford County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone45,397 (95.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race802 (1.7%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races499 (1.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone342 (0.7%)
  • Asian Alone247 (0.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone195 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic706
  2. 2.Spanish331
  3. 3.Other Indo-European107
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)56
  5. 5.Other Asian and Pacific Island37

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.2%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,025

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$30,995

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,550

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance4,501
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)3,195
  3. 3.Manufacturing (Group)2,917
  4. 4.Construction (Group)2,166
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,803

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations6,695
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations4,501
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations4,059
  4. 4.Service Occupations3,590
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,895

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.91×)678
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.47×)3,261
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.40×)2,155
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.38×)1,791
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.35×)3,271

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$172,900

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$771/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

77.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,9991,942 (12.7%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,853 (12.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9991,837 (12.0%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,626 (10.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,549 (10.1%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,052 (6.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

16.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

90.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

58.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$37,602

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone17,045 (79.3%)
  • Carpooled2,177 (10.1%)
  • Worked At Home1,618 (7.5%)
  • Walked371 (1.7%)
  • Other120 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit90 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.