Living in Benton, Tennessee: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.9% below the U.S. average in the Cleveland metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byAffiliate of Vitruvian Health in Cleveland, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityKnoxville is about 68 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 Benton 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: $184,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 12%Polk County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $472 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $29,414U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $756 a yearTennessee: $1,442
Homes built before 1940: 5%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 13%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 88.1U.S. average = 100 (the Cleveland 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 12% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cleveland metro area, not Benton 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: 1,4762020: 1,518
Median age: 38.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 13%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: Manufacturing (28%); schools, health care and social services (18%); retail (14%)
Average commute: 26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 23%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Affiliate of Vitruvian Health, Cleveland, TN, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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 Benton, run by Polk County.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Tennessee'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: 59%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 92%U.S.: 91%

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: 29°F
July average high: 89°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 36 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 80 a year
Rain and melted snow: 57.6 inches a year
Snow: 1 inches a year
Elevation: 747 feet

Weather station: Cleveland Fltr Plt (8 miles away). 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

Affiliate of Vitruvian HealthEmergency room12

Cleveland, TNCity of 51,00012

Knoxville, TNMetro of 1 million68

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: Affiliate of Vitruvian Health, Cleveland, Knoxville.

Polk 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

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Ocoee No. 3 Hydroelectric Project.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park34 miles
Great Smoky Mountains National Park43 miles
Appalachian National Scenic Trail44 miles
Manhattan Project National Historical Park54 miles

Read about Benton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Benton?

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

Cleveland, TN51,000 people, 12 miles
Wildwood Lake, TN3,500 people, 13 miles
Etowah, TN3,800 people, 13 miles
South Cleveland, TN7,500 people, 15 miles
Hopewell, TN2,600 people, 15 miles
Englewood, TN1,600 people, 19 miles

Smaller places

Ocoee, TN (unincorporated)208 people, 5 miles
Delano, TN (unincorporated)838 people, 8 miles
Charleston, TN923 people, 10 miles
Calhoun, TN571 people, 10 miles
East Cleveland, TN (unincorporated)1,934 people, 12 miles
Conasauga, TN (unincorporated)128 people, 12 miles

Sources

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.