Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,444, settled in 1870.
Benson is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 232nd among Minnesota's 271 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $53K, and 10% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $191K, 3.2 years of the county’s $60K median household income. 42% of working residents work locally in Benson, above both Minnesota’s towns (9.7%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 22 of Minnesota’s 574 towns score higher on walkability. Benson has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Swift County Courthouse and Church of St. Francis Xavier-Catholic.
Where Benson beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Benson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 456 in 1880, 3,480 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 2 maps from 1968 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Benson, 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 Benson.
Benson is healthier than towns with similar incomes and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Minnesota (mostly inland flooding).
4.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Benson’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Benson | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Roosevelt Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Benson Public School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Benson Secondary, with 334 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northside ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 391 | B |
| Benson SecondaryLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 334 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Home values rose 37% in five years, to about $191K, against 14% across Minnesota. The median property tax bill is $1,516, against $3,357 across Minnesota, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
62% of Benson households own their home. The typical Benson home is worth about $191,000, up 3.9% in a year, 45% below the Minnesota typical home. The median rent in Benson is $982 a month.
| Benson | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $982 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of Minnesota towns, with expected losses of about $704 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Benson weather station records that 43 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 76% of Minnesota places with climate records. July afternoons average 82.4°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 88% of Minnesota places with climate records; January nights average 2.7°.
Benson has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
| Benson | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 3°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The top destinations are Torning Township (10%), Morris (5%) and Willmar (4%). Half commute less than 2 miles.
| Benson | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.8% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 6,731 U.S. towns with household incomes like Benson’s, it is healthier than 72%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
39% of adults have high blood pressure in Benson. Among 271 Minnesota towns, just 4 have a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Benson. 38% of adults have obesity in Benson.
| Benson | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 31% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 10% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Benson | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.3% | 76.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.8% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median household earns $52,821, against $89,062 across Minnesota, one input to its C for jobs and income.
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 34% of residents (38% statewide). 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 39% across Minnesota.
| Benson | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women. Among residents 75 and older, 80% are women (MN 57%).
| Benson | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.9% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.2% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.4% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.7% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.7% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.8% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.1% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.2% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.9% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.4% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,400, single groups can be off by several points
None within 15 miles of Benson; the nearest are
About 7 of every 100 Benson residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
3 places in Benson on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Benson.
City in Minnesota, United States
Benson is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, United States, along the Chippewa River. The population was 3,480 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Benson.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benson · Benson Township | #232 | C+ | C+ | A− | C+ | C+ |
| Torning Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Six Mile Grove Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Torning Township and Six Mile Grove Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Benson Township and Benson are one community, graded once. Compare Benson with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Benson grades C+ overall, better than 44% of U.S. towns and #232 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades C+ for health, A− for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
6 notable people were born here, including Mark Kennedy and Edgar Dale.
