According to research by The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which is a legislative Agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the poverty rate for Bedford County was 13.6% in 2014. The statewide poverty rate was 13.6% in 2014. The 2012 childhood poverty rate by school district was: Bedford Area School District - 36.1% living at 185% or below than the Federal Poverty Level, Chestnut Ridge School District - 44.7%, Everett Area School District - 50.5%, Northern Bedford County School District - 42.4% and Tussey Mountain School District - 57.1%.