54,228 people (2024 Census estimate, +7.6% since 2020)
474 square miles of land · 114 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
5 active community water systems list Bedford County in the area they serve, reporting 67,663 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| SHELBYVILLE WATER SYSTEM surface water · local government · TN0000628 | 36,813 served |
| BEDFORD COUNTY U.D. surface water · local government · TN0000517 | 23,641 served |
| WARTRACE WATER SYSTEM buys surface water · local government · TN0000730 | 3,576 served |
| BELL BUCKLE WATER SYSTEM buys surface water · local government · TN0000044 | 2,999 served |
| SHELBYVILLE FLAT CREEK W.S. buys surface water · local government · TN0008272 | 634 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 300 people were held in Bedford County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 876 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 215.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in Bedford County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $113.1 million — $89.3 million to run schools, about $9,873 per student, plus $21 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $25 million local (mostly property tax), $57.3 million state, $24.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $47.5 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Bedford County about $25.4 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively Low; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
294 bridges in Bedford County: 165 in good condition, 122 fair, and 7 poor (2.4%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| FAS 269 over CARR BRANCH · built 1941 | 1,514 vehicles a day |
| NFA A310 over NORMAN CREEK · built 1940 | 280 vehicles a day |
| NFA A048 over NORTH FORK CREEK · built 1983 | 160 vehicles a day |
| NFA A142 over PANNELL CREEK · built 1960 | 130 vehicles a day |
| NFA A225 over BELL BUCKLE BRANCH · built 1970 | 90 vehicles a day |
| NFA A390 over BELL BUCKLE CREEK · built 1940 | 60 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $5 million of work in Bedford County in fiscal 2025, about $100 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Last day to register to vote: 2026-10-05. Early voting: 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-29. Mail ballot request deadline: 2026-10-24. Election Day: 2026-11-03.
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State: elections calendar · Tennessee Secretary of State: registration deadline FAQ · Tennessee Secretary of State: GoVoteTN
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Bedford County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Bedford County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Tennessee: the state government and every county in Tennessee.
Nearby counties: Moore County (16 mi) · Marshall County (18 mi) · Coffee County (21 mi) · Rutherford County (23 mi) · Lincoln County (27 mi) · Cannon County (30 mi).