Kempston Rural is a civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.

The typical parish in pre-Industrial England had one main village, perhaps complemented by a few hamlets, but in Kempston the settlement around the church - Church End - has never had more than a dozen or so houses, so it has never dominated the parish.

When urban growth arrived in Kempston in the 19th century it was concentrated in the eastern parts of the parish, around the neighbouring ends of East End and Up End (i.e. the area around the High Street and St John Street) and in Kempston New Town, close to the boundary of Bedford.

[2] There are two tiers of local government covering Kempston Rural at civil parish and unitary authority level: Kempston Rural Parish Council and Bedford Borough Council.

The area is represented on Bedford Borough Council by Mark Smith, elected in May 2007.