county

Benton County, TN

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

AI Overview

Benton County is a small rural county of 15,948 residents with an economy reflected in a GDP per capita of $27,046 and median household income of $51,746, though an 18.5% poverty rate and 5.4% unemployment signal persistent economic pressure. The available labor pool is constrained, with a labor force participation rate of just 49.6% and only 12.4% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, though 87.2% have a high school diploma and median worker earnings of $36,001 suggest relatively low labor costs. Housing is affordable—median home value of $123,400 and median gross rent of $788/month—and a 75.1% homeownership rate reflects a stable, older resident base with a median age of 47.8, though the county posted a -1.0% population decline over the past five years.

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

Population

15,948

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$51,746

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

47.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-1.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone14,473 (90.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race470 (2.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races440 (2.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone233 (1.5%)
  • Asian Alone166 (1.0%)
  • Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander Alone101 (0.6%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish86
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic76
  3. 3.Other Indo-European23
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic16
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

55.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

2.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

873

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$27,046

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,169

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

18.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,307
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)888
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)673
  4. 4.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services596
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities531

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,864
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,351
  3. 3.Service Occupations1,217
  4. 4.Sales & Office Occupations1,160
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations696

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.77×)636
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.50×)916
  3. 3.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.31×)128
  4. 4.Other Services (LQ 1.26×)366
  5. 5.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.21×)171

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$123,400

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$788/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

75.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999573 (10.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999461 (8.6%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999435 (8.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999406 (7.6%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999377 (7.0%)
  • $80,000 to $89,999371 (6.9%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

12.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

87.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

49.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,001

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

26.5 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

4.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone5,029 (82.9%)
  • Worked At Home357 (5.9%)
  • Other303 (5.0%)
  • Carpooled287 (4.7%)
  • Walked91 (1.5%)
  • Taxi2 (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.