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Benson, Arizona

Benson is a small town of about 5,500 people in Cochise County, Arizona. It has grown about 2% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Tucson, is about 36 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
5,532
up 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$148,900
Cochise County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$49,346
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Sierra Vista area
89.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Benson Hospital
To Tucson
36 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.8% below the U.S. average in the Sierra Vista-Douglas metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Benson itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byBenson Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityTucson is about 36 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Benson meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$148,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Cochise County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$783 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$49,346U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$996 a yearArizona: $1,879
Homes built before 1940
4%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
17%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.2U.S. average = 100 (the Sierra Vista-Douglas metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Sierra Vista-Douglas metro area, not Benson alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
5,5322020: 5,411
Median age
50.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
31%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
10%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (23%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (20%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%)
Unemployment rate
9%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Benson Hospital, Benson, AZ, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Canyon Vista Medical Center, Sierra Vista, AZ, about 26 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

3 public schools in Benson, run by Benson Unified School District (79226).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Arizona's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
61%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
33°F
July average high
91°F
Days 90°F or hotter
79 a year
Nights at or below freezing
40 a year
Rain and melted snow
11.8 inches a year
Snow
0 inches a year
Elevation
4,249 feet

Weather stations: Kartchner Caverns (6 miles away) and Benson 6SE (6 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Tucson.

Cochise County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

10 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Apache Powder Historic Residential District, Benson Historic Barrio, the Benson Railroad Historic District and the Empirita Cattle Ranch Rural Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Saguaro National Park17 miles
  • Coronado National Memorial38 miles
  • Tumacacori National Historical Park48 miles
  • Fort Bowie National Historic Site52 miles
  • Chiricahua National Monument55 miles

Read about Benson's history on Wikipedia.

Know Benson?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • St. David, AZ (unincorporated)1,098 people, 7 miles
  • Mescal, AZ (unincorporated)1,760 people, 7 miles
  • J-Six Ranchettes, AZ (unincorporated)419 people, 9 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.