A bedroom community is a town or city that is primarily residential in character, with most of its residents commuting to a nearby town or city to earn their livelihood. For this reason, many countries refer to these settlements as commuter towns. Unlike a suburb, which is adjacent to the urban area it serves, bedroom communities are sometimes quite some distance from the town or city providing employment.

Bedroom communities can arise for a number of different reasons. Sometimes, a town might lose its main source of employment, leading its residents to seek work elsewhere. Other communities start as small villages in rural areas, where employees seek to have a home that is beyond noisy urban life. This second case can also be influenced by zoning restrictions in urbanized areas that prevent the construction of suitable housing closer to places of employment.

See also: Dormitory town, commuter town

de:Schlafstadt ja:ベッドタウン