A household earning Bedford’s median income can still afford a typical house here — and a first-time buyer may be able to get into that house with a down payment of less than $5,000.
The household:
- 3 people
- $57,300 annual household income
- $4,776 gross income per month
- ~$3,975 estimated monthly take-home pay
The house:
- ~$165,000 purchase price
- $4,950 down payment (3%)
- ~$160,050 mortgage
- ~$1,030/month principal and interest
- ~1,200 square feet
- 3 bedrooms
- 1–2 bathrooms
- Often has a basement and garage
- Typical yard of roughly 5,000–10,000 square feet, with larger lots available.
- About $100,000 cheaper than the typical Ohio home
The family budget:
| Monthly expense | Cost |
| Mortgage | $1,030 |
| Property taxes | $340 |
| Homeowners insurance | $110 |
| Mortgage insurance | ~$100 |
| Water + sewer | $82 |
| Trash | $20 |
| Gas + electricity | $250 |
| Internet | $60 |
| Groceries | $800 |
Why it matters: Thinking of moving to Bedford? Maybe buying the house you are renting? A buyer doesn’t necessarily need tens of thousands of dollars for a 20% down payment to become a homeowner. In this example, for a first-time homeowner, $4,950 gets the buyer to 3% down on a typical Bedford house.
The Big Picture: Bedford is known for affordable homes. But a cheap house does not necessarily mean a cheap place to live. So what does a typical Bedford life actually cost?
For our example, we used a three-person household earning about $57,300 a year, Bedford’s median household income. They buy a typical Bedford home for about $165,000, put 10% down and take out a 30-year mortgage.
For that price, buyers can generally expect an older Bedford home with about three bedrooms, one or two bathrooms and around 1,200 square feet, often with a basement, yard and garage.
The mortgage payment would be about $950 a month at current interest rates. Add roughly $340 for property taxes, $110 for homeowners insurance and $60 for mortgage insurance. That puts the house itself at about $1,460 a month.
Then come the other bills.
A typical amount of water and sewer would cost around $82 a month. Bedford’s trash assessment adds $20. We estimated about $250 for gas and electricity and $60 for internet.
For groceries, we used the federal government’s low-cost food estimates for a three-person household: about $800 a month, with meals prepared mostly at home.
Taxes take another bite. After federal, state, payroll and local income taxes, we estimate this household would have roughly $3,975 a month in take-home income, although the exact amount depends heavily on how the household is made up and how its members file their taxes.
Bedford’s biggest advantage remains housing.
The typical Bedford home sells for around $165,000. That is roughly $100,000 less than the typical home statewide. For that price, buyers can still find a traditional house with three bedrooms, a yard and, in many cases, a garage and basement.
Bedford’s 3% income tax is high. Property taxes, utilities and other local costs add up too. But the relatively low cost of buying a home more than deserves a place in the affordability conversation.
And Bedford offers something else that is harder to put on a spreadsheet: location.
A home here puts residents about 20 minutes from many of Greater Cleveland’s major job centers, hospitals, shopping areas and attractions. For households that use public transportation, avoiding the cost of a car can stretch the budget even further.
For a household earning close to Bedford’s median income, homeownership is still within reach. That may be Bedford’s biggest affordability advantage.
You don’t have to earn a six-figure income to buy a house here. And you get a yard, a garage and easy access to the rest of Greater Cleveland when you do.
