Bedford County, Virginia

County Distress Index: Healthy · 34.6 | 81,525 people · 112th most distressed in Virginia

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Bedford County, VA ranks among the least distressed counties in the country at 34.6 — 2675th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Employment & Wages, where employment and wage conditions show moderate stress. Within Virginia, it ranks 112th of 133 counties. Among its 8 neighboring counties, 6 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Bedford County's primary driver is Employment & Wages at 52.5 — above the national median.

Employment & Wages Primary driver 52.5
Unemployment Rate 34
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 77
Business Formation Rate 46
Housing Cost Burden 43.2
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 59
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 79
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 39
Homeownership Rate 5
Rent-to-Income Ratio 34
Debt & Delinquency 29.0
Debt in Collections 21
Medical Debt 15
Student Loan Delinquency 5
Auto Loan Delinquency 34
Credit Card Delinquency 31
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 68
Community Vulnerability 26.7
Uninsured Rate 29
Disability Rate 24
Income & Poverty 21.5
Poverty Rate 20
Income vs. State Median 25
Child Poverty Rate 20

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Bedford County compares to its 8 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Bedford County
Bedford County, VA 34.6 Healthy
Lynchburg city, VA 57.9 Elevated +23.3
Amherst County, VA 52.6 Elevated +18.0
Pittsylvania County, VA 52.3 Elevated +17.8
Campbell County, VA 40.8 Normal +6.2
Rockbridge County, VA 40.1 Normal +5.5
Franklin County, VA 39.6 Normal +5.0
Roanoke County, VA 30.3 Healthy -4.3
Botetourt County, VA 20.8 Healthy -13.8

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Bedford County
Gallatin County, MT 34.6 Healthy 0.0
Eau Claire County, WI 34.7 Healthy +0.1
Limestone County, AL 34.4 Healthy -0.1
Story County, IA 34.7 Healthy +0.1
Kendall County, IL 34.8 Healthy +0.2

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