Benton County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,575. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and largest city is Vinton. The county is named for Thomas Hart Benton, a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Benton County is part of the

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...

, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Benton County was formed on December 21, 1837, from sections of Dubuque County. It was named after US Senator Thomas Hart Benton.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 380 * US 30

U.S. Highway 30 * US 151

U.S. Highway 151 * US 218

U.S. Highway 218 * Circle sign 8

Iowa Highway 8 * Elongated circle 21

Iowa Highway 21 Iowa Highway 21 (Iowa 21) is a state highway (Iowa), state highway that runs from north to south in central Iowa. It has a length of . Iowa 21 begins at Iowa 149 west of Hedrick, Iowa, Hedrick and ends at a freeway interchange wi ...

Iowa Highway 27 * Elongated circle 150

Iowa Highway 150 Iowa Highway 150 (Iowa 150) is an state highway (Iowa), state highway in eastern and northeastern Iowa. It begins at U.S. Route 218 (US 218) in Vinton, Iowa, Vinton and ends at U.S. Route 52 in Iowa, US 52 and Iowa Highway 24, Io ...

Adjacent counties

* Black Hawk County (northwest) * Buchanan County (northeast) * Linn County (east) * Iowa County (south) * Tama County (west) * Poweshiek County (southwest) * Johnson County (southeast)

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 25,575 in the county, with a population density of . 96.29% of the population reported being of one race. 93.04% were non-Hispanic White, 0.45% were Black, 1.81% were Hispanic, 0.13% were Native American, 0.32% were Asian, 0.01% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 4.24% were some other race or more than one race. There were 11,076 housing units of which 10,282 were occupied.

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 26,076 in the county, with a population density of . There were 11,095 housing units, of which 10,302 were occupied. BentonCountyIA2022PopPyr

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 25,308 people, 9,746 households, and 7,056 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 10,377 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.84%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.20%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.11% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. 0.62% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 9,746 households, out of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.70% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,427, and the median income for a family was $49,701. Males had a median income of $35,044 versus $23,978 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $18,891. About 4.6% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Atkins * Belle Plaine * Blairstown *

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

* Keystone * Luzerne * Mount Auburn * Newhall *

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

* Shellsburg * Urbana * Van Horne * Vinton *

Walford Walford is a fictional borough of East London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location wor ...

Townships

Benton County is divided into twenty townships: * Benton * Big Grove * Bruce * Canton * Cedar * Eden * Eldorado *

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

* Fremont * Harrison *

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

* Kane * Leroy *

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

* Polk * St. Clair *

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

* Union

Census-designated place

* Watkins

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Benton County. † ''county seat''

Politics

Education

School districts: * Belle Plaine Community School District * Benton Community School District * Center Point-Urbana Community School District * College Community School District * Independence Community School District * North Linn Community School District * Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District * Union Community School District There was formerly a state-operated school, Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School.

References

{{Coord, 42, 04, 47, N, 92, 04, 03, W, region:US-IA_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title 1837 establishments in Wisconsin Territory Populated places established in 1837 Cedar Rapids, Iowa metropolitan area