county

Benton County, MS

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

AI Overview

Benton County is a small, rural Mississippi county with a population of 7,592 that has contracted 8.0% over five years, pointing to persistent outmigration. The labor force is limited—participation stands at just 52.7%—and educational attainment is low, with only 12.1% holding a bachelor's degree, though the 2.7% unemployment rate is relatively tight and median worker earnings run $32,488. Housing costs are minimal, with a median home value of $109,300 and median gross rent of $729/month, and an 86.0% homeownership rate, while a mean commute of 37.5 minutes suggests workers largely travel outside the county for employment.

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

Population

7,592

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$46,016

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

44.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-8.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone4,613 (60.8%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,616 (34.5%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races150 (2.0%)
  • Some Other Race Alone147 (1.9%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race31 (0.4%)
  • Asian Alone25 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish178
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic20
  3. 3.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)4

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

58.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

21.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

289

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$40,628

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$23,870

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

2.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

17.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance748
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)732
  3. 3.Construction (Group)432
  4. 4.Other Services, Except Public Administration (Group)339
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities275

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations918
  2. 2.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations771
  3. 3.Service Occupations548
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations528
  5. 5.Sales & Office Occupations483

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.72×)139
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 2.15×)478
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 2.06×)387
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.81×)273
  5. 5.Manufacturing (LQ 1.60×)511

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$109,300

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$729/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

86.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999425 (16.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999307 (11.6%)
  • $90,000 to $99,999283 (10.7%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999186 (7.0%)
  • $50,000 to $59,999184 (7.0%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999162 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

80.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

52.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$32,488

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

34.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,835 (88.4%)
  • Carpooled225 (7.0%)
  • Worked At Home61 (1.9%)
  • Walked54 (1.7%)
  • Other31 (1.0%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)

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.