Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,118, settled in 1870.
Benton’s best subject grade is an A− for schools; its weakest is a D for health. Only 3 of the 128 Louisiana towns we compare have a higher typical home value than Benton. Hughes House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Benton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Benton beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Benton Middle School | 6–8 | 817 |
| Benton Intermediate School | 5–6 | 754 |
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 Louisiana), ordered by how far Benton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 402 in 1930, 2,048 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 4 maps from 1932 on.
1 place 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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Benton.
The typical Benton home is worth about $351,000, up 2.5% in a year, 64% above the Louisiana typical home. At $873 a month, Benton’s median rent is where Louisiana’s towns sit at $990 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. 63% of Benton households own their home.
| Benton | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $873 a month | $990 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Bossier Parish school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 817 | A |
| Benton Intermediate SchoolTop results in townGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 754 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within LA on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Benton for work: only 13% work in town. 24% of residents live below the poverty line in Benton, above both Louisiana’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Since 2013, Benton has added 3,303 jobs, to 4,398 in 2023.
| Benton | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 20% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $56,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Benton tracks Louisiana closely on all 32 CDC measures. 45% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Benton.
| Benton | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 42% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 34% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 43% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 12% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Benton’s July high is 94°F. Benton has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Louisiana average. The median age in Benton is 35.7 years. Benton has grown 3.2% since 2020, to 2,118 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Benton | Louisiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35.7 years | 37.8 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 20% | 20% | 29% |
Somewhere between 42% and 62% women
The Census survey reached too few of Benton’s residents to say more: its margin here is ±10.3 points. Across Louisiana, 51.1% of residents are women.
| Benton | LA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.7% | 12.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.7% | 10.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.1% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.3% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.2% | 11.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.2% | 12.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.2% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 2.9% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.5% | 12.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 44% | 32.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.5% | 20.4% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6% | 7.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.3% | 17% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.7% | 10.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,100, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Benton since 1991.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Benton. Close and well known come first.
16 mi LakeCaddo Lake
15 mi Stadium & arenaIndependence Stadium
16 mi Stadium & arenaCenturyLink Center
13 mi TheatreShreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium
13 mi MuseumEighth Air Force Museum
12 mi TheatreStrand TheatreCaddo Lake: Jay Carriker (User:JCarriker), CC BY-SA 2.5 · Independence Stadium: AllisonFoley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CenturyLink Center: The original uploader was Dman861 at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eighth Air Force Museum: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Strand Theatre: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
5 within 15 miles of the center of Benton
About 1 of every 100 Benton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Louisiana.
3 notable people were born in Benton.
Town in Louisiana, United States
Benton is a town in, and the parish seat of, Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,048 in 2020. The town is named for 19th century U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, a Democrat from Missouri and an ally of U.S. President Andrew Jackson.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
3 notable people were born here, including Ford E. Stinson and Riley Stewart.
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