Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Benton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $266K, 3.9 years of the Augusta area’s $69K median household income. It grades C− overall, ranked 103rd of 142 in Maine. Only 14 of Maine’s 285 towns score lower on hazard risk. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Only 18 of Maine’s 285 towns score lower on civic life.
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 Maine), ordered by how far Benton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,189 in 1850, 2,715 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 5 maps from 1892 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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Benton.
Benton gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has little public open land.
The typical Benton home is worth about $266,000, about the same as a year ago, 35% below the Maine typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by RSU 49/MSAD 49. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 575 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within ME on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Benton for work: only 4% work in town. Benton’s average trip to work is 20 minutes, below both the Maine town median (25 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). The median household income in Benton is $61,000.
| Benton | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.1% | 12% | 8% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $78,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Albion weather station, 7 miles away, records that 86 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 79.5°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 81% of Maine places with climate records; January nights average 9.2°.
Benton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Benton’s January low is 9°F, against 10°F in Maine’s towns and 22°F across U.S. towns. Benton’s July high is 80°F.
| Benton | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 9°F | 10°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 79°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,290 U.S. towns with household incomes like Benton’s, it is healthier than 53%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Benton beats the Maine average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 13% of adults binge drink in Benton.
| Benton | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 15% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Benton | ME |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.7% | 15.5% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 8.9% | 9.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 14.2% | 10.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1987, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Benton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Just 532 of its 18,483 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Benton itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
Only 4 of the 143 Maine towns we compare have a lower trail density than Benton. 1.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Benton | Maine towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 4.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Benton Riverfront Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Benton. Close and well known come first.
35 mi LandmarkFort Knox
7 mi MuseumColby College Museum of Art
39 mi MuseumFarnsworth Art Museum
24 mi MuseumMaine State Museum
7 mi MuseumL. C. Bates Museum32 mi Ski areaCamden Snow Bowl31 runs · 836 ft verticalFort Knox: Unknown, Public domain · Colby College Museum of Art: Colby Mariam, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Farnsworth Art Museum: Panoramio user MementoMori, CC BY 3.0 · Maine State Museum: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 3.0 · L. C. Bates Museum: W.A. Judge, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Benton
About 3 of every 100 Benton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Maine.
4 notable people were born in Benton.
Town in Maine, United States
Benton is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. It was formed in 1842, as a subdivision of the town of Clinton. The population was 2,715 at the 2020 census. The town was named for Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Benton.
| Town | ME rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton | #103 | C− | B+ | — | C | C |
| Fairfield | #121 | C− | C+ | B− | C | C− |
| Clinton | #72 | B− | B | A | C | C+ |
| Albion | — | — | B+ | — | C | D |
| Winslow | #88 | C | C | B+ | C+ | C |
Albion has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Benton and Albion report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Benton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Benton grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #103 of 142 in Maine. It grades C for health and C for schools. Walkability 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 B+.
4 notable people were born here, including Asher Hinds and Bruce Bickford.
