Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Black Hawk County (northwest)
• Buchanan County (northeast)
• Linn County (east)
• Iowa County (south)
• Tama County (west)

2020 census

The 2020 census recorded a population of 25,575 in the county, with a population density of 35.6124/sq mi (13.75001/km²). 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.^[1]

2010 census

The 2010 census recorded a population of 26,076 in the county, with a population density of 36.419/sq mi (14.061/km²). There were 11,095 housing units, of which 10,302 were occupied.^[12]

2000 census

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 25,308 people, 9,746 households, and 7,056 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 inhabitants per square mile (14/km²). There were 10,377 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5.4/km²). 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.

Cities

Townships

Benton County is divided into twenty townships:

Census-designated place

• Watkins

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Benton County.^[1]

† county seat