Bedford is a very small city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 1,490 people and just one neighborhood, Bedford is the 313th largest community in Iowa. Bedford has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.
Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Bedford is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Bedford is a city of professionals, production and manufacturing workers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Bedford who work in management occupations (13.90%), healthcare (12.50%), and office and administrative support (11.10%).
Being a small city, Bedford does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
In Bedford, just 12.54% of people have at least a bachelor's degree, which is quite a bit lower than the national average for cities and towns of 21.84%.
The per capita income in Bedford in 2022 was $29,570, which is low income relative to Iowa, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $118,280 for a family of four. However, Bedford contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Bedford home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Bedford residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Bedford include German, English, Irish, Swiss, and European.
The most common language spoken in Bedford is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Polish.
The way a neighborhood looks and feels when you walk or drive around it, from its setting, its buildings, and its flavor, can make all the difference. This neighborhood has some really cool things about the way it looks and feels as revealed by NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research. This might include anything from the housing stock to the types of households living here to how people get around.
Uncrowded roads, rural America and space to be the individual you are. If you like these characteristics, this neighborhood may fit you. With just 15 residents per square mile, is less crowded than 95.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
Did you know that the neighborhood has more Swiss and English ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 3.1% of this neighborhood's residents have Swiss ancestry and 20.9% have English ancestry.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the neighborhood in Bedford are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 65.9% of U.S. neighborhoods. In addition, 5.6% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 62.8% of America's neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the neighborhood, 35.4% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 32.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (16.2%), and 14.5% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 98.6% of households.
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the neighborhood in Bedford, IA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (25.0%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (20.9%), and residents who report Irish roots (9.3%), and some of the residents are also of Swiss ancestry (3.1%), along with some Scottish ancestry residents (2.3%), among others.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (40.8% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (72.3%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (17.5%) and 6.4% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.