Benton, Arkansas, United States

🇺🇸 Benton is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Arkansas, United States. A suburb of Little Rock, it was established in 1837. It is the 12th most populous city in Arkansas. It is part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metropolitan area. The city of Benton, first settled in 1833 and named after Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, was formally chartered in 1836 when Arkansas became a state.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.4 square miles (48 km²), of which 17.9 square miles (46 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) (2.71%) is water.

Demographics As of the 2020 United States census, there were 35,014 people, 13,082 households, and 8,913 families residing in the city. At the 2000 census there were 21,906 people in 8,713 households, including 6,186 families, in the city. The population density was 1,221.2 inhabitants per square mile (471.5/km²). There were 9,315 housing units at an average density of 519.3 per square mile (200.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.81% White, 4.46% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. 1.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 8,713 households 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.95.

The age distribution was 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

The median household income was $41,503 and the median family income was $51,064. Males had a median income of $32,493 versus $22,386 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,797. About 5.8% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.9% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education Public education for early childhood, elementary and secondary students is provided by: • Benton School District, which leads to graduation from Benton High School (majority of the city) • Bryant Public Schools, which operates Bryant High School • Bauxite School District

A small area near Frontage Road to the south-east is physically in the Harmony Grove School District, which operates Benton Harmony Grove High School.