county

Benton County, IA

Demographic and economic profile of Benton County, IA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Benton County is a small, largely rural Iowa county with a population of 25,698 and a workforce characterized by high labor participation (66.6%), low unemployment (2.3%), and modest educational attainment—24.9% hold a bachelor's degree or higher against a 94.7% high school completion rate. Median household income stands at $86,962, well above what housing costs suggest as a burden, with a median home value of $198,400 and median gross rent of just $815 per month, and an 85.0% homeownership rate. Population has been essentially flat over five years (+0.3%), and the median age of 43.1 reflects a mature workforce typical of small agricultural communities in the region.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

25,698

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$86,962

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.1 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+0.3% since 2018

Benton County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone24,375 (94.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races532 (2.1%)
  • Some Other Race Alone319 (1.2%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race305 (1.2%)
  • Black or African American Alone107 (0.4%)
  • Asian Alone60 (0.2%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish344
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic246
  3. 3.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)38
  4. 4.Other Indo-European19
  5. 5.Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)8

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

23.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

57.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,728

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$32,919

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$40,995

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,359
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)2,472
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)1,345
  4. 4.Construction (Group)1,099
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services790

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations4,951
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations2,470
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations2,300
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,894
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,536

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.79×)591
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.78×)2,348
  3. 3.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.64×)503
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.16×)1,065
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.12×)3,465

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$198,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$815/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

85.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,496 (17.3%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,076 (12.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999958 (11.0%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999825 (9.5%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999767 (8.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999613 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

24.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

66.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$49,778

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

3.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone10,185 (78.0%)
  • Worked At Home1,499 (11.5%)
  • Carpooled1,009 (7.7%)
  • Walked202 (1.5%)
  • Other75 (0.6%)
  • Bicycle59 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.