Bedford County consists of 764 square miles in the west-central portion of Virginia known as the Piedmont Plateau. The City of Bedford, the county seat, is located in the heart of the county on the U.S. Route 460 corridor midway between the cities of Lynchburg to the east and Roanoke to the west. The City covers an area of 6.81 square miles. The County’s boundaries consist of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the west, the James River on the northeast and Smith Mountain Lake on the south. The area has a rolling to hilly terrain with elevations from a low of 800 feet above sea level to a high of 4,200 feet.

TRANSPORTATION

Highways
Interregional Highways 460, 29, 501 and 81 pass through or are easily accessible from the Bedford area:

US 460 (Lynchburg to Roanoke) connecting with I-81 near Roanoke and
US 29 accessible in Lynchburg
US 501 linking the Shenandoah Valley with central North Carolina
US 221 connecting Lynchburg & Bedford

Railroads
The east-west line of Norfolk Southern RR connects the agricultural Midwest, the industrial Great Lakes and the Allegheny coal fields with the Atlantic Coast. AMTRAK passenger service is available in Lynchburg.

Airports
The Lynchburg and Roanoke Regional Airports provide air service to the Bedford area. Commercial air service is provided by US Airways Express, Delta Connection, United Express, Comair, ASA and Northwest with many daily departures and arrivals. Limousine service and rental cars are available at both airports.

Ports
The Bedford area is located approximately 220 miles from the Ports of Virginia, which include one of the finest natural harbors in the world and three inland river ports. Bedford is also 325 miles from the port of Baltimore, Maryland, and 495 miles from the port of New York.

Motor Carriers
Major trucking firms provide excellent daily carrier service to the Bedford area.

CLIMATE

Average Annual Rainfall	43.06 inches
Average Annual Snowfall	17.9 inches
Average Relative Humidity	62 percent
Temperature — Average — Winter	39.55
Temperature — Average — Summer	72.38

POPULATION

City of Bedford	6,299
Bedford County	61,300
Per Capita Income	$26,637
City Median Age	40.9
County Median Age	39.7

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis

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