Bedford County, Virginia

Bedford County
County
Bedford County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°19′N 79°32′W / 37.31°N 79.53°W / 37.31; -79.53
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Founded	1754
Named for	John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
Seat	Bedford
Largest town	Bedford
Area
• Total	769 sq mi (1,990 km2)
• Land	753 sq mi (1,950 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km2)  2.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	79,462
• Density	100/sq mi (40/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	5th, 9th
Website	www.bedfordcountyva.gov

Bedford County is a United States county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is the town of Bedford, which was an independent city from 1968 until rejoining the county in 2013.^[1]

Bedford County was created in 1753 from parts of Lunenburg County, and several changes in alignment were made until the present borders were established in 1786. The county was named in honor of John Russell, an English statesman and fourth Duke of Bedford.

Bedford County is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Bedford's population was 79,462.^[2] The county population has more than doubled since 1980.^[3]