Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Benton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $186K, 2.8 years of the county’s $66K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 61st of 138 in Kentucky. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 74% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Benton has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them James R. Lemon House and Stilley House. Among 115 Kentucky towns, just 5 have a lower violent crime rate than Benton. The biggest park or preserve is Benton City Park, at 47 acres.
Where Benton beats most towns.
Where Benton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kentucky), ordered by how far Benton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 165 in 1860, 4,756 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1936 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Benton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Benton.
Benton draws workers from Murray and beyond, has homes that are cheap against local pay and looks healthier within Kentucky than nationally.
2,925 jobs are based in Benton, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Benton for work: only 16% work in town. At 27 minutes, Benton’s average trip to work is where Kentucky’s towns sit at 22 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Since 2013, Benton has added 463 jobs, to 2,925 in 2023.
| Benton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 15% | 8% |
| Work from home | 13% | 10% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 16% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Marshall County school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 528 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within KY on state tests and graduation
Since 1978, 27 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Benton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Kentucky it is healthier than 54% of the 141 graded towns: much of Kentucky scores lower on these measures.
Benton beats the Kentucky average on 5 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 28% of Benton adults have been diagnosed with depression, close to Kentucky’s towns (27%) and above U.S. towns (23%). 19% of adults smoke cigarettes in Benton.
| Benton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Benton | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.9% | 15.5% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.6% | 8.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 8.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Benton has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Benton’s July high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 2.8 years of the county’s $66K median household income, the typical home (about $186K) costs less against local pay than in 79% of Kentucky towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. 76.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 45.4% across Kentucky.
79% of Benton households own their home. The typical Benton home is worth about $186,000, down 2.8% in a year, 19% below the Kentucky typical home. The median rent in Benton is $787 a month.
| Benton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79% | 59% | 73% |
| Median rent | $787 a month | $937 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Kentucky average. 20% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 28% across Kentucky.
| Benton | Kentucky towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 43.2 years | 37.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 20% | 26% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 17% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.2 points. Across Kentucky, 50.5% of residents are women.
| Benton | KY | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.4% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.3% | 13.1% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.8% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.1% | 6.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.3% | 11.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36% | 32.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.7% | 19.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.9% | 9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 11.4% | 16.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.8% | 11.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,700, single groups can be off by several points
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Benton City Park | — | 47 |
| 2. Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Benton; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Benton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Kentucky.
6 notable people were born in Benton.
City in Kentucky, United States
Benton is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. The current mayor of this city is Rita Dotson. The population was 4,756 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Benton grades C+ overall, better than 45% of U.S. towns and #61 of 138 in Kentucky. It grades C for health, B for safety and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
6 notable people were born here, including Dick Sutherland and Rich Duwelius.
