Welcome to Bedford ...
The city of Bedford is located in Taylor County<1> and is the County Seat for Taylor County.
The location of Bedford has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Bedford, you might consider that their post office opened in 1856.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Bedford has a population of 1,404 people<3> (see below for details).
Bedford is 1,160 feet [354 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Bedford lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The telephone area code for Bedford: (712)
The ZIP code for Bedford: 50833<5>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Bedford had an population of 1,404 people. This is a decrease of 2.5% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 13.33% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Bedford had a population of 1,440 people (which is 22.78% of the total population of Taylor County). This makes Bedford the county's most populous community.
The population of Bedford represents 0.05% of the population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 213rd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 1,440 people, the population of Bedford decreased 11.11% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 1,620 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Bedford.
Communities Also Named Bedford ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 32 communities that are also named Bedford - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana (2), Manitoba, Massachusetts, Michigan (2), Missouri, Montana (2), New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York (2), North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia (2), Washington and Wyoming.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bedford.
Communities near Bedford ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Bedford.
- Clarinda
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarinda
- Clarinda is located in Page County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,366 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarinda <6>
- Lenox
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lenox have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Lenox is located in Taylor County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,386 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lenox <6>
- Hopkins
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopkins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkins
- Hopkins is located in Nodaway County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopkins <6>
- New Market
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Market have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- New Market is located in Taylor County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 397 people
- Clearfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearfield
- Clearfield is located in Taylor County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clearfield <6>
- Blockton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - Shambaugh
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shambaugh
- Shambaugh is located in Page County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Gravity
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravity
- Gravity is located in Taylor County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
- Sheridan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Sheridan is located in Worth County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 174 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheridan <6>
- Parnell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parnell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
- Parnell is located in Nodaway County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parnell <6>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Bedford. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Bedford.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Bedford. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bedford.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Bedford. Our list includes 16 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Bedford.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Bedford ...
Looking for more information about Bedford? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Bedford, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Bedford.
Adding Bedford to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Bedford in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Bedford was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Bedford post office opened in 1856.
We also found Bedford in the book titled Iowa State Gazetteer (1865).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Bedford.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bedford. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Taylor, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Bedford. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bedford - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Bedford). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Bedford or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |