County outline
Where Bedford County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 99.5% of Bedford County’s measured area and water for 0.5%. Its combined area converts to 2,633 square kilometers or approximately 650,637 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 1,011.991 | 2,621.045 | 647,674.2 |
| Water | 4.63 | 11.992 | 2,963.2 |
| Total | 1,016.621 | 2,633.036 | 650,637.4 |
How Bedford County compares
By original Census land area, Bedford County ranks #10 of 67 in Pennsylvania and #668 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.549 times the Pennsylvania county-equivalent median of 653.3 square miles. It accounts for 2.3% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Pennsylvania ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Bedford County
The Census Bureau estimates that 47,480 people lived in Bedford County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,058 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #45 of 67 in Pennsylvania. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 47,567, the population has declined by 87 (−0.2%), compared with +0.4% for Pennsylvania as a whole.
With 1,012 square miles of land, that is 47 people per square mile (18 per km²), placing Bedford County #1,613 nationally for density and #56 in Pennsylvania. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Pennsylvania median is 137. Put another way, there are about 14 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 47,569 | 47,500 | 47,373 | 47,448 | 47,566 | 47,480 |
| Change | — | −69 | −127 | +75 | +118 | −86 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Bedford County
Bedford County is divided into 38 municipalities and townships. In Pennsylvania, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Bedford township, with 5,088 residents (10.7% of the county). The largest by land is Monroe township, at 87.3 mi², or 8.6% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, East Providence township grew fastest since then (+4%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford townshipCounty seat | 5,088 | −0.2% | 68.1 | 6.7% |
| West Providence township | 3,064 | −0.3% | 38.5 | 3.8% |
| East St. Clair township | 2,922 | +0.6% | 33.9 | 3.3% |
| Bedford boroughCounty seat | 2,817 | −1.8% | 1.085 | 0.1% |
| South Woodbury township | 2,093 | +0.5% | 33.7 | 3.3% |
| Napier township | 2,042 | +0.5% | 57.8 | 5.7% |
| Hopewell township | 1,881 | −0.6% | 34.2 | 3.4% |
| East Providence township | 1,826 | +4% | 50.4 | 5% |
| Snake Spring township | 1,773 | +0.1% | 26.1 | 2.6% |
| Everett borough | 1,732 | −2% | 0.98 | 0.1% |
| West St. Clair township | 1,639 | −0.4% | 29.8 | 2.9% |
| Londonderry township | 1,623 | −1.3% | 54.8 | 5.4% |
| Kimmel township | 1,513 | −1% | 20.2 | 2% |
| Broad Top township | 1,454 | +0.9% | 48.2 | 4.8% |
| Cumberland Valley township | 1,441 | −0.7% | 59.7 | 5.9% |
Show the other 23 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe township | 1,414 | +0.9% | 87.3 |
| Liberty township | 1,395 | +0.6% | 26.2 |
| Woodbury township | 1,191 | +1.2% | 23.4 |
| King township | 1,172 | −0.5% | 15.7 |
| Colerain township | 1,134 | +0.1% | 41.9 |
| Bloomfield township | 1,040 | +0.3% | 19.4 |
| Harrison township | 921 | −1.3% | 37.1 |
| Juniata township | 908 | +0.6% | 47.4 |
| Hyndman borough | 849 | −1.6% | 0.512 |
| Southampton township | 847 | +0.4% | 80.2 |
| Saxton borough | 707 | −1.9% | 0.406 |
| Mann township | 508 | +0.6% | 35.7 |
| Lincoln township | 386 | −1.8% | 16.3 |
| Schellsburg borough | 323 | −1.5% | 0.254 |
| Manns Choice borough | 305 | −2.2% | 0.501 |
| Pavia township | 282 | −1.7% | 21.9 |
| Woodbury borough | 281 | −1.7% | 0.128 |
| Pleasantville borough | 193 | −0.5% | 0.074 |
| New Paris borough | 191 | −1.5% | 0.058 |
| Hopewell borough | 185 | −1.6% | 0.114 |
| Rainsburg borough | 138 | −1.4% | 0.163 |
| Coaldale borough | 127 | −1.6% | 0.034 |
| St. Clairsville borough | 75 | −1.3% | 0.03 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Bedford County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Bedford County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.
ZIP codes
29 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Bedford County; 23 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
1552115522155331553415535155371553915545155501555415559159461662516633166501665516657166591666216664166671667016672166731667816679166941669517211
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Bedford County
Bedford County shares a land border with 6 county equivalents, including 1 in Maryland. It has more land than 5 of them. The largest neighbor is Somerset County (1,075 mi²) and the smallest is Allegany County (422.2 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Bedford County forms a block of 5,034.4 mi² of land, of which it holds 20.1%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Bedford | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County | 1,075 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
| Huntingdon County | 874.6 | 1.2× smaller | Compare |
| Cambria County | 688 | 1.5× smaller | Compare |
| Blair County | 525.1 | 1.9× smaller | Compare |
| Fulton County | 437.6 | 2.3× smaller | Compare |
| Allegany CountyMaryland | 422.2 | 2.4× smaller | Compare |
How big is Bedford County compared with U.S. states?
Bedford County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1 times as much. Pennsylvania’s county land could hold about 44 areas the size of Bedford County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 31.8 miles (51.2 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Bedford County?
Bedford County has more land than 2,554 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Bedford County at #754 nationally by total area, 86 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 0.5%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.7 percentage points lower. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Bedford County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #667 | Crawford County, Pennsylvania | 1,012.4 | Compare |
| #668 | Bedford County, Pennsylvania | 1,012 | This county |
| #669 | Navarro County, Texas | 1,009.7 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 39.999256, -78.494378. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 2,621,044,842 m²; AWATER: 11,991,960 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Bedford County?
Bedford County, Pennsylvania has 1,012 square miles (2,621 km²) of land and 4.63 square miles of water, for a total area of 1,016.6 square miles. It ranks #668 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Bedford County the largest county in Pennsylvania?
No. Bedford County ranks #10 of 67 in Pennsylvania by land area. The largest is Lycoming County, with 1,228.9 square miles of land.
What counties border Bedford County?
Bedford County shares a land border with Somerset County, Fulton County, Blair County, Allegany County, Maryland, Huntingdon County, and Cambria County.
What is the population of Bedford County?
The Census Bureau estimates Bedford County had 47,480 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,058 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 47 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Bedford County?
The county seat of Bedford County is Bedford.
What cities and towns are in Bedford County?
Bedford County has 38 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Bedford township, West Providence township, East St. Clair township, Bedford borough, and South Woodbury township.
Is Bedford County part of a metropolitan area?
No. Bedford County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Bedford County?
29 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Bedford County, and 23 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Bedford County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Bedford County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 647,674 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 650,637 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.