Work & commute · Bedford

Work & commute in Bedford, IN

About one in 4 of Bedford’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Bloomington (15%), Mitchell (3%) and Richland (3%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

27%

1,432 of 5,305 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,873 Bedford residents head out of town to work, 1,432 work right here, and 6,198 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bedford.

3,873live here, work elsewhere

1,432live and work here

6,198work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bedford goes to work

Bedford (in town)right here

27%1,432

Bloomington21.1 mi away

15%776

Mitchell8.5 mi away

3%179

Richland24.5 mi away

3%149

Shawswick3 mi away

3%144

Center66 mi away

2%114

Bloomington24.2 mi away

2%98

Seymour32.9 mi away

2%89

Columbus38.8 mi away

1%74

Perry18 mi away

1%67

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%2,183

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Bedford commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

38%

28%

11%

24%

38%Under 10 mi

28%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bedford is balanced between jobs and homes

1.44jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.44 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bedford are

7,630 jobs are based in Bedford. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bedford’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bedford

7,630 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Bedford residents hold

5,305 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+1%

Jobs based in Bedford, 2013 → 2023: 7,552 → 7,630. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.