Bedford County, Tennessee
Selected Statistical Information
I.  Geography & Demographics Tennessee Bedford County County Rank Percent of State
Total Land Area (sq. mi.)                 41,217                474 44th  1.1%
Farmland (2007)          
Acres of Farmland            10,969,798         231,206  8th   2.1%
Number of Farms                 79,280             1,554  10th   2.0%
Average Size of Farms (Acres)                     138                149  31st   108.0%
Population            
2008 Estimate 6,214,888 44,696 34th  0.7%
2000 Census 5,689,283 37,586 38th  0.7%
1990 Census 4,877,203 30,411 41st  0.6%
Gain (1990 to 2000) 812,080 7,175 29th  0.9%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 16.7% 23.6% 25th  141.7%
Population Density (per sq. mi.)         Comparison to State Figure
2008 Estimate                   150.8               94.4 34th  62.6%
2000 Census                   138.0               79.4 38th  57.5%
1990 Census                   118.3               64.2 39th  54.3%
Urban Population         Percent of State
2000 Census            3,618,968           15,312 32nd  0.4%
1990 Census            2,969,948           14,049 28th  0.5%
Growth Rate (1990 to 2000) 21.9% 9.0% 44th  41.1%
Percent of Population in Urban Areas
2000 Census 63.6% 40.7% 31st  64.0%
1990 Census 60.9% 46.2% 22nd  75.9%
Median Age            
2000 Census 36 35 84th  97.2%
1990 Census 34 35 51st  104.2%
Population Percentages by Age Bracket        
2000 Census
under 18 24.6% 25.8% 18th 
18-24 9.6% 9.9% 17th 
25-44 30.2% 29.7% 31st 
45-64 23.2% 22.0% 83rd 
65 & over 12.4% 12.7% 69th 
1990 Census
under 18 25.1% 25.5% 32nd 
18-24 10.9% 9.6% 53rd 
25-44 31.8% 29.3% 51st 
45-64 19.6% 20.7% 54th 
65 & over 12.6% 14.9% 38th 
Population Growth by Age Bracket, 1990 to 2000  
Population Percentages by Race/Ethnicity (2000 Census)  
Tennessee Bedford County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Males per 100 Females (2007) 95.4 99.8 13th  104.6%
Marriages Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 10.7 7.5 77th  70.1%
Divorces Recorded per 1,000 Population in 2006 4.7 6.7 90th  142.6%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
II.  Income & Poverty Tennessee Bedford County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
Per Capita Personal Income          
2006 $32,172 $27,783 28th  86.4%
2000 $26,097 $23,202 22nd  88.9%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 3.55% 3.05% 62nd  85.89%
Median Household Income          
2007 $42,389 $39,792 32nd  93.9%
2000 $35,760 $36,759 22nd  102.8%
Compound Annual Growth Rate 2.46% 1.14% 90th  46.32%
2007 Poverty Rate          
All Ages  15.8% 17.7% 50th  112.03%
Related Children Under 18 Years  22.5% 24.3% 47th  108.00%
2000 Census            
All Ages  13.1% 18.1% 76th  137.60%
Related Children Under 18 Years 15.9% 21.0% 71st  131.88%
2007 Food Stamp Recipients (Monthly Average )          
Percent of Households 15.8% 19.1% 62nd  120.56%
Percent of Individuals 14.1% 15.3% 42nd  108.34%
2007 Families First           
Percent of Households 2.5% 4.6% 93rd  185.50%
Percent of Individuals 2.5% 2.1% 67th  85.49%
*A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
III.  Health & Healthcare Tennessee Bedford County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2007 Pregnancy & Birth Rates           
Live births per 1,000 Population                    14.2               16.6 5th  116.9%
Percent of Live Births to Unmarried Parents 42.8% 48.1% 85th  112.4%
Percent Low Birth Weight 9.4% 8.4% 32nd  89.4%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 15-44                    80.7               88.0 5th  109.0%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-17                    13.9               14.4 75th  103.6%
Pregnancies per 1,000 Females Aged 10-14                      1.3                1.3 65th  100.0%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Mortality Rates           
Number of Deaths per 1,000 Population                      9.3               10.0 33rd  107.5%
Number of Deaths per 100,000 Population by Cause of Death
Diseases of the Heart                   233.2             267.4 48th  114.7%
Cancer (Malignant Neoplasm)                   215.3             244.7 50th  113.7%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
86th 
86th 
86th 
Tennessee Bedford County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Access to Healthcare          
Medical Doctors per 1,000 (2007)                      1.8                0.6 47th  36.0%
Hospital Beds per 1,000 Population (2006)                      4.2                2.4 48th  57.1%
Nursing Home Beds per 1,000 Pop. 65 & older (2006)                    49.2               46.8 57th  95.1%
2006 Charity Care--Percent of All Hospital Care  8.5% 2.6% 46th  30.3%
IV.  Employment
Unemployment Rate   Tennessee Bedford County County Rank* Comparison to State Figure
2009 (February) 9.5% 10.8% 34th  113.3%
2000 4.0% 4.7% 50th  117.3%
2007 Youth Unemployment Rate  15.7% 13.3% 29th  84.8%
* A rank of 1 indicates the best condition.
2007 Employment Percentages by Major Industry   Tennessee Bedford County County Rank Comparison to State Figure
Total Employment All Industries 2,745,397 17,732 25 0.6%
Natural Resources and Mining 0.4% 0.4% 44 91.5%
Construction 4.9% 4.6% 26 94.9%
Manufacturing 13.8% 39.1% 14 282.6%
Trade, Transportation and Utilities 22.1% 18.7% 24 84.6%
Information 1.8% 1.0% 28 55.5%
Financial Activities 5.2% 2.3% 33 44.9%
Professional and Business Services 11.8% 9.4% 23 80.2%
Education and Health Services 12.4% 6.3% 38 50.8%
Leisure and Hospitality 10.1% 5.0% 38 50.0%
Other Services 2.6% 1.2% 33 47.4%
Government 14.9% 11.8% 29 79.2%
Federal 1.8% 0.4% 54 23.5%
State 3.3% 0.4% 22 11.4%
Local 9.9% 11.0% 28 111.5%
2007 Average Annual Wage by Major Industry         County Rank
38th 
39th 
39th 
55th 
12th 
39th 
18th 
79th 
50th 
19th 
36th 
74th 
64th 
32nd 
41st 
V.  Value of Farmland and Agricultural Products Sold
Tennessee Bedford County Rank
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $           467,420  $      550,239 16th 
(Average Per Farm)
Estimated Market Value of Farmland & Buildings   $               3,378  $         3,698 33rd 
(Average Per Acre)
Total Market Value of Agicultural Products Sold   $  2,617,394,000 ############ 1st 
VI.  County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
2001-2002 Revenue by Source (in thousands)   Tennessee Percent of Total Bedford County Percent of State Total
Grand Total  $         8,062,012 100.0%  $    50,218 100.00%
Total State Revenue  $         2,504,883 31.1%  $    22,072 44.0%
Public Schools            1,949,045 24.2%        18,284 36.4%
All Other               555,838 6.9%         3,788 7.5%
Federal Revenue  $           511,055 6.3%  $      4,118 8.2%
Total Local Revenue  $         5,046,074 62.6%  $    24,028 47.8%
Property Tax            2,720,971 33.8%        12,075 24.0%
Local Sales Tax            1,123,100 13.9%         4,711 9.4%
Other Local             1,202,003 14.9%         7,242 14.4%
 Tax Base (in thousands)   Tennessee Bedford County County Rank Percent of State
2007 Equalized Assessed Property Value  $     131,625,598  $      765,329
Tax Base Per Capita $21,179 $17,123 34th  80.8%
2007 County Property Tax Rate (per $100) $2.27 51st 
2008 Total Taxable Sales   $       69,005,974  $      316,594
Tax Base Per Capita $11,103 $7,083 32nd  63.8%
2008 County Sales Tax Rate 2.75% 1st 
VII.  Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
Estimated Costs, 2007 - 2012 (in thousands)   Tennessee Bedford County County Rank Percent of State
Project  Type
Transportation  $       17,106,712  $      128,336 37th 0.8%
Water & Wastewater            3,855,355           34,119 26th 0.9%
K-12 New School Construction            1,798,581           27,600 20th 1.5%
Existing School Improvements            1,899,735           26,047 19th 1.4%
Industrial Sites & Parks               241,362           12,800 4th 5.3%
Fire Protection               220,725             5,500 10th 2.5%
Libraries, Museums, & Historic Sites               285,785             3,000 10th 1.0%
Recreation            1,118,527             2,091 58th 0.2%
Other Utilities               598,698             1,500 15th 0.3%
Non K-12 Education            3,015,869                300 39th 0.0%
Public Buildings               526,288                225 64th 0.0%
Law Enforcement            1,826,201                    - 74th 0.0%
Business District Development               375,758                    - 23rd 0.0%
Stormwater               371,227                    - 39th 0.0%
Community Development               367,547                    - 50th 0.0%
Public Health Facilities               323,093                    - 30th 0.0%
Housing               100,189                    - 14th 0.0%
School System-wide Need                 63,021                    - 16th 0.0%
Solid Waste                 54,314                    - 30th 0.0%
Other Facilities                 32,755                    - 9th 0.0%
Telecommunications                 17,009                    - 5th 0.0%
Property Acquisition                   3,956                    - 8th 0.0%
Grand Total  $       34,202,707  $      241,518 31st 0.7%
VIII.  Adult & Post-secondary Education
Adult Educational Attainment     Tennessee Bedford County County Rank
2000 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 75.9% 69.7% 41st 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 19.6% 11.1% 39th 
2008 Estimate
1990 Census
Percent w/ HS diploma (or equivalent) or better 67.1% 57.6% 40th 
Percent w/ Bachelors Degree or better 16.0% 10.5% 26th 
 Number of Post-secondary Institutions (2008)      
Four-year Colleges and Universities 77 0
Public 14 0
Private 63 0
Other Public Institutions 93 1
Community Colleges 13 0
Technology Centers 27 1
Two-Year Private Institutions 20 0
Off-campus Sites 33 0
2007 - 2008 Enrollment (full-time equivalent) at Post-secondary Institutions    
Four-year Colleges and Universities*          214,260                     -  
Public 134,696 0
Private 79,564 0
Other Public Institutions* 134,278 493
Community Colleges 80,454 0
Technology Centers 13,939 493
Two-Year Private Insitutions 11,049 0
Off-campus Sites 28,836 0
* Note: By location of instiution, not county of residence of students
IX.  Public School Systems  (Total number of school systems is 136)
Statewide Bedford County    
Number of Students
2007-2008                 944,738                    7,656               
Percent of Statewide 0.8%          
1997-1998                 834,318                    5,542               
Percent of Statewide 0.7%          
Increase/(Decrease)                 110,420 2,115          
Percent Change 13.2% 38.2%          
2007-2008
Free or Reduced-price Meals 54.5% 65.2%
Federal Title 1 39.7% 28.4%
Special Education 14.7% 12.9%
English Language Learners 3.2% 10.8%
Statewide Bedford County    
2007-2008 Accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 
Elementary Schools 71.5% 100.0%
Secondary Schools 90.8% 75.0%
Students per Classroom Teacher*
2007-2008                      14.9                      16.1               
1997-1998                      15.8                      16.6               
Increase/(Decrease)                       (0.9)                       (0.4)                    
Progress Through School
Promotion Rate
2007-2008 98.0% 98.3%          
1997-1998 96.6% 97.0%
Dropout Rate
2007-2008 10.1% 3.5%
1997-1998 4.5% 5.0%
*Classroom teachers include art, music and physical education teachers.  Because these auxiliary teachers are
included, ratios of students to classroom teachers do not represent and tend to be lower than actual class sizes.
Statewide Bedford County    
Expenditures per Student
2007-2008 $7,742 $6,114
Percent of Statewide 79.0%          
1997-1998 $5,123 $4,292
Percent of Statewide 83.8%          
Increase/Decrease $2,618 $1,822          
Percent Change 51.1% 42.5%          
Classroom Teachers' Average Salary*
2007-2008 $44,820 $41,147
Percent of Statewide 91.8%
1997-1998 $34,584 $31,341
Percent of Statewide 90.6%
Gain $10,236 $9,806
Percent Change 29.6% 31.3%          
Revenue by Source (percent of total)
2007-2008
State 47.6% 66.4%
Federal 10.8% 10.4%
Local 41.6% 23.2%
System Rank for Percent Local 92nd 
2006-2007
State 45.5% 62.0%
Federal 11.0% 11.9%
Local 43.5% 26.1%
System Rank for Percent Local 81st 
Statewide Bedford County County Rank
2008-2009 County Area Fiscal Capacity        
Estimated Local Revenue per Student $2,782 $1,941 36th 
Sources of Information for County Profiles
I. Geography & Demographics
U.S. Bureau of the Census--all data except for marriage and divorce rates.
www.census.gov
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
TN Dept. of Health - marriage and divorce rates.
http://health.state.tn.us/
II. Income & Poverty
U.S. Bureau of the Census--median household income data & poverty rates.
www.census.gov
TN Dept. of Human Services--Food Stamp data and Families First data.
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_fsp.htm
http://www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/adfam/afs_tanf.htm
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis - per capita income data
www.bea.gov
III. Health & Healthcare
TN Dept.of Health, Health Statistics & Research--pregnancy, births, mortality & healthcare access data.
http://health.state.tn.us/statistics/healthdata.htm
IV. Employment
TN Dept. Of Labor and Workforce Development - unemployment data. 
http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/
U.S. Department of Labor - employment data.
ww.bls.gov/lau/home.htm
V. Value of Farmland and Agricultural Product Sold
U.S. Department of Agriculture - farmland data
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome
VI. County Government Finance (municipalities' revenue data not available)
TN County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS), Resource Center--county revenue data.
www.ctas.utk.edu
TN Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessment--equalized assessed property values.
http://www.comptroller.state.tn.us/pa/taxaggr.htm
TN Dept. of Revenue--total taxable sales.
www.state.tn.us/revenue/files.htm
VII. Public Infrastructure Needs Inventory
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--all data. 
http://tn.gov/tacir/infrastructure.html
VIII. Adult & Post-secondary Education
U.S. Bureau of the Census--educational attainment.
www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html
TN Higher Education Commission--post-secondary institution and enrollment data.
www.state.tn.us/thec
IX. Public School Systems (Total number of school systems is 136)
TN Department of Education--all data except fiscal capacity.
http://www.state.tn.us/education/mdata.shtml
TN Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations--education fiscal capacity.
http://tn.gov/tacir/fiscalcapacity.html
Prepared by TACIR