Work & commute · Bedford

Work & commute in Bedford, VA

About one in 4 of Bedford’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Lynchburg (12%), Roanoke (11%) and Forest (3%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

27%

807 of 3,032 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 2,225 Bedford residents head out of town to work, 807 work right here, and 5,664 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bedford.

2,225live here, work elsewhere

807live and work here

5,664work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bedford goes to work

Bedford (in town)right here

27%807

Lynchburg18 mi away

12%376

Roanoke24.8 mi away

11%321

Forest13.2 mi away

3%81

Salem30 mi away

2%64

Hollins24.1 mi away

1%43

Cave Spring28.3 mi away

1%38

Timberlake14.8 mi away

1%31

Madison Heights23.5 mi away

1%27

Daleville22.5 mi away

1%24

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%1,220

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.

31%

36%

12%

20%

31%Under 10 mi

36%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bedford is a job hub

2.13jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Bedford are

6,471 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

6,471 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Bedford residents hold

3,032 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month49%

+1%

Jobs based in Bedford, 2013 → 2023: 6,399 → 6,471. 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.