Work & commute · Bedford

Work & commute in Bedford, PA

Most working residents leave Bedford for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Bedford (26%), Snake Spring (5%) and Altoona (2%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

194 of 1,286 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 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 1,092 Bedford residents head out of town to work, 194 work right here, and 1,369 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bedford.

1,092live here, work elsewhere

194live and work here

1,369work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bedford goes to work

Bedford2.9 mi away

26%338

Bedford (in town)right here

15%194

Snake Spring4.8 mi away

5%66

Altoona34.5 mi away

2%25

Greenfield20.6 mi away

2%25

West Providence8.3 mi away

2%20

Hollidaysburg29.3 mi away

1%16

Cumberland, MD28.5 mi away

1%14

College66 mi away

1%14

Johnstown30.7 mi away

1%12

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%562

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.

50%

17%

24%

50%Under 10 mi

9%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bedford is balanced between jobs and homes

1.22jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bedford are

1,563 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

1,563 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Bedford residents hold

1,286 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−5%

Jobs based in Bedford, 2013 → 2023: 1,637 → 1,563. 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.