Bedford, Texas

Bedford is a city located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, in the "Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 46,979 at the 2010 census. Bedford is part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District.

Geography
Bedford is located at 32.84667°N, -97.13972°W (32.846790, -97.139630).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.0 sqmi, of which 0.10% is water.

Neighboring cities include Hurst and Euless, with which Bedford forms the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District.

Prominent highways include State Highway 121 and State Highway 183, also known as Airport Freeway (a reference to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, so called because this was the main thoroughfare to the airport in the early years of its history).

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,152 people, 20,251 households, and 12,515 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,713.6 people per square mile (1,820.5/km²). There were 21,113 housing units at an average density of 2,110.6 per square mile (815.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.63% White, 3.65% African American, 0.51% Native American, 3.62% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 2.44% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.22% of the population.

There were 20,251 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city, the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $54,436, and the median income for a family was $71,017. Males had a median income of $45,938 versus $33,012 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,466. About 2.4% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
The City of Bedford, Texas Home Rule Charter was adopted September 24, 1966. The city operates under a Council-Manager form of government and provides the following services by its charter: public safety, public works, health, culture, recreation, community development, water and sewer utilities.

According to the city's 2013-2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's various funds had $62.5 million in revenues, $56.9 million in expenditures, $127.4 million in total assets, $67.2 million in total liabilities, and $22.4 million in cash and investments.

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:

Tax rollback of 2005
In 2004, the Bedford city council determined that after years of cost cutting, a property tax increase would be necessary. The council adopted a higher tax rate, but it triggered a tax rollback election in March 2005. The rollback provision passed and the city council revised the budget immediately due to the lack of funds, cutting city services including swimming pools, recreational centers, and the city library. However, an anonymous donation of $300,000 allowed the reopening of the library, one pool, the recreational center, and senior center. Another $20,000 was raised through a resident fundraising drive to help reopen the library. City records show they had budget surpluses in the following years.

Top employers
According to Bedford's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Education
Bedford is within the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District.

Brown Mackie College, a system of for-profit colleges, has a Bedford campus that offers courses in healthcare and wellness, business and technology, and legal studies. In June 2016, Brown Mackie College announced that it would be closing most of its campuses and would not accept new students at the Bedford campus.

Notable people

 * Clint Ford, American actor and writer
 * Myles Turner, NBA basketball player for the Indiana Pacers
 * Scott Chandler, football player
 * Colt David, football player
 * Donnie Hart, MLB pitcher
 * Betty Pariso, IFBB professional bodybuilder
 * R. K. Milholland, author of the webcomic Something Positive
 * Jonathan Stickland, Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 92, including Bedford, his city of residence
 * Mystique Summers Madison, drag queen, participant in the second season of the TV series RuPaul's Drag Race.
 * Daniel Woolard, professional soccer player
 * Blake Swihart, baseball player
 * Melissa Valdez, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader and TV Personality
 * Dustin Ybarra, stand-up comedian and actor