About Bedford

Bedford is a somewhat small town located in the state of New York. With a population of 5,616 people and just one neighborhood, Bedford is the 346th largest community in New York.

Bedford is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 94.18% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Bedford is a town of managers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Bedford who work in management occupations (22.06%), sales jobs (17.56%), and business and financial occupations (8.89%).

Of important note, Bedford is also a town of artists. Bedford has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Bedford's character.

Also of interest is that Bedford has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 8.95% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Bedford is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates." Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness.' But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.

Bedford is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The town's good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Bedford's overall crime rate ranks among the lowest in the country, making it one of the safest places to raise a family.

One downside of living in Bedford is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Bedford, the average commute to work is 39.48 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.

As is often the case in a small town, Bedford doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Bedford Information and Demographics

Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Bedford. 70.32% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 14.96%.

The per capita income in Bedford in 2000 was $75,723, which is wealthy relative to New York and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $302,892 for a family of four. However, Bedford contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Bedford home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Bedford is White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Bedford include Italian, Irish, English, Polish, German, Russian, Eastern European, and European.

The most common language spoken in Bedford is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.