Benton County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,575. Its county seat and largest city is Vinton. The county is named for Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. Senator from Missouri.

Benton County is part of the Cedar Rapids, 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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 380 U.S. Highway 30 U.S. Highway 151 U.S. Highway 218 Iowa Highway 8 Iowa Highway 21 Iowa Highway 27 Iowa Highway 150

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 As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 25,575 and a population density of . 96.29% of residents reported being of one race.

The median age was 42.3 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.2 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 94.9% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.7% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.8% of the population. Of those reporting a single race, 93.04% were non-Hispanic White, 0.45% were Black, 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.

18.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 81.3% lived in rural areas.

There were 10,282 households in the county, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.8% were married-couple households, 17.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 11,076 housing units, of which 7.2% were vacant and 10,282 were occupied. Among occupied housing units, 82.5% were owner-occupied and 17.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.5%.

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.

2000 census As of the census 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, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. 0.62% of the population were Hispanic 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 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 for the county was $18,891. About 4.6% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Communities Cities

Atkins Belle Plaine Blairstown Garrison Keystone Luzerne Mount Auburn Newhall Norway Shellsburg Urbana Van Horne Vinton Walford

Townships Benton County is divided into twenty townships:

Benton Big Grove Bruce Canton Cedar Eden Eldorado Florence Fremont Harrison Homer Iowa Jackson Kane Leroy Monroe Polk St. Clair Taylor 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

RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation(2020 Census)Population(2024 Estimate) 1† Vinton City 4,938 5,065 2Belle Plaine City 2,330 2,336 3Atkins City 2,056 2,297 4Urbana City 1,554 1,788 5Walford (partially in Linn County) City 1,366 1,378 6Shellsburg City 961 996 7Newhall City 876 892 8Van Horne City 774 791 9Blairstown City 713 722 10Keystone City 599 630 11Norway City 466 480 12Garrison City 344 338 13Mount Auburn City 162 167 14Watkins CDP 116 119 15Luzerne City 112 117

Politics

Education School districts: - Text list, 2010 map, 2010 text list 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.

See also Benton County Courthouse (Iowa) National Register of Historic Places listings in Benton County, Iowa Civil Bend

References