47421 — Bedford, Indiana

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 47421. Its median household income runs 37% above Bedford as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 28% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
OpportunityTop 28% of 3,116 ZIP areas measured65
SchoolsTop 47% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured53
GrowthTop 25% of 3,124 ZIP areas measured64
Housing affordabilityTop 36% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured73
Climate1,711th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured69
Physical resilienceTop 40% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured66
Access2,804th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured68
Economic stability1,811th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured50
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.5% and median household income $68,108, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Bedford, IN, which contains 47421, rather than for 47421 alone.

In the public schools here, 40% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.3 students for every teacher.

59 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 9% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Bedford, IN, which contains 47421, rather than for 47421 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
27,599
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$68,108
Bottom 44% nationally
Density
150/sq mi
184.4 sq mi of land
Median age
46.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Bedford
Indiana
Micro area
Nearest major airport
IND
60 mi · Indianapolis Intl
Median home value
$188,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Bedford, IN, which contains 47421, is 3.5%, lower than in 81% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Bedford, IN, which contains 47421, fell 0.6% over the past year, to 21,148 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLawrence County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$52,70315th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLawrence County, IN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$48,4616th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,9962024 ACS 5-Year$68,108Bottom 44%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,5562024 ACS 5-Year$38,096Top 45%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.8%Bottom 43%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.3 minBottom 47%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year22.2%Bottom 47%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.5%68th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentBedford, IN’s figureJuly 202621,148Bottom 21%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Bedford, IN’s figureJuly 2026+6.9%Top 2%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Bedford, IN’s figureJuly 2026−0.6%Top 49%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceBedford, IN’s figureJuly 202621,91121st percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year77.6%Bottom 48%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Bedford, IN’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Top 25%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateBedford, IN’s figureJuly 20263.5%Top 19%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.9%40th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202468k60k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $68,108 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Bedford, IN, the city containing this ZIP code.

40% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 49% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.3 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.3
across 7 of them
Math proficiency
40.0%
Bottom 46% in Indiana
Reading proficiency
48.6%
Top 40% in Indiana
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Bedford-North Lawrence High SchoolNorth Lawrence Com Schools1,26817.433%55%
Parkview Elementary SchoolNorth Lawrence Com Schools52812.357%49%
Bedford Middle SchoolNorth Lawrence Com Schools51816.227%40%
Shawswick Elementary SchoolNorth Lawrence Com Schools50715.852%42%
Lincoln Elementary SchoolNorth Lawrence Com Schools30715.342%47%
Needmore Elementary SchoolNorth Lawrence Com Schools22313.1——
Lawrence County Independent Schools · charterLawrence County Independent Schools20513.7——
Playful PathwaysNorth Lawrence Com Schools0———
North Lawrence Career CenterNorth Lawrence Com Schools0———

60.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Indiana’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana is up 51% over five years, and up 5.5% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,043 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.55% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $956, some 14% above the $835 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $956 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,200 a year, about 56% of the median household income here of $68,108.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $835 a month.

A median home at $188,100 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $79,904, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
30.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$956
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$835
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$188,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 47421’s median household income of $68,108, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana’s figure2026 Q2+5.5%85th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana’s figure2026 Q2+50.9%78th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Indiana’s figure2026 Q2+103.3%62nd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 36%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year80.0%53rd percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3472024 ACS 5-Year13,03889th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$729Top 3%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,146Top 2%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$956Top 5%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$312024 ACS 5-Year$835Top 29%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$22,9292024 ACS 5-Year$188,10041st percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$982024 ACS 5-Year$1,04320th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$4,2112024 ACS 5-Year$79,904Bottom 46%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year0.55%18th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year30.0%Bottom 40%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±962024 ACS 5-Year11978th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%48th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.0%36th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2172024 ACS 5-Year76582nd percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

64/ 100
Top 25% of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 59 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Bedford, IN, which contains 47421, rather than for 47421 alone.

At 4.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Bedford, IN, which contains 47421, rather than for 47421 alone.

Units permitted
59
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.3
Top 39% nationally
Year over year
−9%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
23%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$52,703
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$48,461
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Monroe County, IN 531 people · 29% of arrivals
  2. Orange County, IN 165 people · 9.0% of arrivals
  3. Greene County, IN 89 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  4. Jackson County, IN 82 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  5. Washington County, IN 55 people · 3.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Monroe County, IN 378 people · 23% of departures
  2. Orange County, IN 172 people · 10% of departures
  3. Greene County, IN 77 people · 4.7% of departures
  4. Martin County, IN 63 people · 3.8% of departures
  5. Jackson County, IN 61 people · 3.7% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Lawrence County, IN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Bedford, IN, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 48.6 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BEDFORD 5 WNW, 6.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals48.6"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

66 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 52% of it. Inland flooding and strong wind are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

EarthquakeHigh
TornadoElevated
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate
Cold waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: strong wind, winter weather, inland flooding, ice storm, drought, landslide, hail, wildfire, hurricane, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
3.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
11.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
18.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
15.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 47421 (Lawrence County) rather than 47421 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Bedford carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Indianapolis Intl at 60 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year85.3%Bottom 32%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle60 miBottom 8%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 26%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year12.9%Bottom 26%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Indianapolis IntlIND60 mi11,200 ft
Terre Haute RgnlHUF61 mi9,021 ft
Louisville Muhammad Ali IntlSDF61 mi11,887 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
64
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

47421 vs Bedford

How this ZIP area compares with Bedford as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

47421
Bedford
Median household income: 47421 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$68,108
vs
$49,553
Per capita income: 47421 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$38,096
vs
$31,811
Population density
150/sq mi
vs
1,133/sq mi
Median home value
$188,100
vs
$152,400
Median gross rent: Bedford is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$835
vs
$828
Homeownership rate
80.0%
vs
67.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 47421 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
22.2%
vs
17.3%
Poverty rate: 47421 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
11.8%
vs
16.7%
Median age
46.7
vs
41.8

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.