Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0How is Benton run?
Benton’s town government spent $90,000 on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $62 per resident.
What stands out about how Benton is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
Polk County School District
Benton’s K–12 school district, shared with Copperhill, Ducktown. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $12,686 per pupil, $7,298 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Tennessee districts overall: 40% local, 44% state, 16% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
About $62 per resident a year, or $0.17 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 71%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison for Benton yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample). Benton’s 2022 operating figures are mostly a Census estimate, so it has no like-for-like peer figure. It reported 2024; the next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Day-to-day spending is up 8900% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Benton reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $0 · 2024: $62. Per resident it went from $0 to $62 (up 6100%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 1,247 to 1,440.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $756 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.41% of the home’s value, vs 0.50% across Tennessee.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Benton’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Benton’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Benton →
Who’s in charge in Benton
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time town employee for every 80 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (1,440).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Benton’s votes are counted by county
Tennessee reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Benton alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Polk County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican83.7%7,302 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat15.5%1,356 votesOthers: 0.8% (69 votes).
Most votes in Polk County: Donald J Trump
Tennessee: Trump 64.2%, Harris 34.5%
100% of Benton lies in Polk County. Every 2024 race in Polk County is on the county’s page.
Polk County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Benton.
- 1Your townTown governmentLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Tennessee HouseState representatives
- 3Tennessee SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Tennessee
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Benton’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Benton’s government
How much does Benton spend per resident?
About $62 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Benton?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $756 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.41% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.50% across Tennessee. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the town’s assessor.
Who runs Benton’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Benton yet.
How did Benton vote in 2024?
Tennessee counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Benton alone. Polk County, where 100% of Benton lies, voted Trump 83.7%, Harris 15.5% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Benton?
18 full-time and 3 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $60,136 (about $721,632 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Benton in the state legislature?
State Senate District 2 (Tom Hatcher) and State House District 22 (Dan Howell). The House district also covers four other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Benton’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →